Food Security

I read an Opinion piece this morning regarding Open Borders and the heavy migration of people from South and Central America up through Mexico that focused on the New World Screwworm (NWS).  Southern Mexico has been the focus of containing the NWS since its eradication in regions north many years ago.  The column indicated that the barrier was broken by the Cartels who moved both people and livestock northward through that barrier as authorities "looked the other way" due to potential violence and many bribes.

The cattle carrying the NWS were "legitimized" by being placed in Feedyards and on ranches in Mexico.  It was a way of laundering money for the Cartels.  The barrier holding back the NWS was destroyed through that illegal movement of livestock.

The result was that new reservoirs of the NWS were created across northern Mexico which is home to millions of cattle.  Summer winds, wildlife movement and other factors pushed the NWS across the border into Texas.

We will be unable to stop the spread of NWS unless we can stop the Cartels from laundering money through illegal movement of cattle and other livestock into northern Mexico.  Until that is eliminated, reservoirs of the fly will remain just across the border, providing the source of movement despite closing the border to the entry of live cattle into the U.S.

Food Security is National Security.  The NWS threatens a highly pressured segment of our food supply in the impact it has on cattle production.  The opinion expressed by the Columnist was that Border Security, elimination of the Cartels which engage in drug and human trafficking and elimination of their ability to launder money through illegal movement of livestock is a critical component of securing the U.S. against further spread of NWS.

Food Security has been an issue for humans since the beginning of time.  It can be at the individual, family, community or country level.  It was a serious issue for early pioneers as they founded homesteads and towns in their westward movement across the North American Continent.  An interesting example of one solution was to turn the corn and grapes that they raised into alcoholic products that wouldn't spoil.  Those could then be traded to others for food.

Whiskey was a primary way to store corn produced in the hills of Kentucky and Tennessee and Wine provided a way to capture the proteins and carbohydrates from grapes harvested wild in those same environments.  Human ingenuity at its finest.

We have wild Muscadine Grapes (Vitis rotundifolia) growing in the woods on our place.  I doubt that I will be making any wine from them, but I am happy to see them thriving.  With the way things look in this old world, food security might again become a primary issue to individuals.

 Fields of Clover

Clover is often associated with wealth, prosperity and good fortune.  This is especially true of a four-leaf clover which is considered to be rare.  Clover symbolizes that "all is right with the world."

Clover is an interesting perennial that grows lush with the coming of spring rains.  It fixes nitrogen in the soil which is then bio-available to grasses and forbs which need it for proper growth and health.  It is highly palatable to grazing animals and is an excellent source of protein which is needed for the growth and health of those animals.

It creates a soft carpet that is pleasurable to walk in barefooted.  People have been known to lie down in it due to the pleasant smells and softness of the natural blanket it provides.

City dwellers don't like clover growing in their manicured monoculture lawns that use tons of water and mine the soils of their nutrients.  On the other hand, those who raise grazing animals generally love it for the benefits it provides.  That attitude is just one of many that divides the thoughts of those who take comfort from the proximity of many people to those who are most comfortable with solitude.

Solitude typically is only comfortable for those who have accepted themselves as they are.  It is for those who are secure in their being rather always seeking solace in the company of others.  Solitude is a place of communion with God.

I like to see clover growing in the meadow.  It brings with it a sense of peace.

Below is a picture of White Clover (Trifolium repens) growing on our place.  It is one of the most widely cultivated clovers worldwide and is a highly desirable forage crop.  If in need, the plant can be consumed by humans as well.  It is high in proteins and is sometimes mixed into salads.  Boiling it for about 10 minutes makes it more easily digestible.  (No, I haven't tried it, but it is good to know should an emergency arise.)  White Clover is known to occasionally produce the four-leaf configuration.  I didn't see any in the photo below.

 Adaptability

Most of us adapt in some form or another to the environment in which we live.  If you are single, you form habits and idiosyncrasies that reflect a lifestyle of filling time the way you would choose without worrying about what someone else might need or desire.  Likewise, if married or some other form of joint living arrangement, you adapt to accommodate the needs of others.

The same occurs in the work environment.  Company culture is important and over time employees find ways to fit into that culture or they leave.

We are adaptable creatures.

Adaptability is crucial in nature.  Plants, animals and insects find ways to adapt to the environment and sometimes develop specialized adaptations that cause them to appear strange.  We sometimes wonder why the giraffe has such a long neck until we learn that they browse on the highest leaves of trees where the shoots are tender.  Mosquitos are a creature that we all love to hate yet their specially adapted proboscis allows them to feed on the blood of mammals.  Moths have long tongues that enable them to reach nectar deep within a flower.  The list is as long as there are varieties of species.

Yesterday I came across an Eastern leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus) on one of the thistles growing at the edge of our property.  I almost missed him thinking it was a small piece of plant debris perched on the fading flower of the thistle.  As I looked more closely, I could see the white line across its back as well as the strange, leaf-shaped growths on the rear legs.  I couldn't imagine the purpose of that particular shape, so I turned to Google for answers as usual.  It is speculated that they aid in battle over females.  I suppose it could be reminiscent of a Klingon battle axe and might be used as both a shield and a weapon.  

The bug is not one to encourage because it causes damage to plants and is resistant to pesticides.  They are destructive to many food plants including fruit trees and vegetables.  I thought it was very photogenic though.

 Trusting Your Own Judgment

The majority of the time I trust my own judgement.  I have the confidence that I know enough to make a choice and so I do it.  There are other times I "phone a friend" or ask the advice of someone with whom I have previously associated with and trust.  There are times, though, when nothing will satisfy me but an expert and then I have doubts.

I am not one to order mushrooms at a restaurant.  If they come with a dish I don't pick them off or send the plate back, but I just am not a fan.  I know they have nutritional value and many kinds of mushrooms are highly valued for their flavor.  I would rather have my steak with a little salt and maybe some butter, but you can leave off the mushrooms.

Mushrooms, toadstools and other fungi do interest me.  I smile upon seeing a "fairy ring" growing in the yard, or fantastic growths on the side of a rotting log.  I almost always stop and look at mushrooms.  Maybe I'm looking for the fairly or elf taking shelter beneath its cap, or maybe I just find them to be so alien to me that I am intrigued.

I use a phone application called iNaturalist for identifying plants, insects, reptiles and yes, fungi.  Yesterday I noticed an interesting dark yellow cap poking through the soil near our fire pit and snapped a photo to determine what it was.  It identified as the Yellow American Blusher (Amanita flavorubens) which is an edible mushroom.  The problem is that it is in the Amanita genus which contains a number of lethally poisonous mushrooms.  If you aren't an expert mycologist, don't take a chance with this one.  If you are, bon appetite!

Billionaire Candidates and Agricultural Ignorance

This is from a few years ago and is among my favorite images.  I find it interesting how the curiosity is strong on both sides of the fence.

Agriculture is something that is little appreciated by most people these days.  Social media has been completely crazy with how one of the current Presidential candidates gave a speech a few years ago to a group of highly educated, full-of-themselves individuals, in which he implied that it didn't take much intelligence to be in agriculture.  In fact, that speech (follow the link to see the article which includes the video) was given at about the same time the above image was taken.

The speech has been taken out of context in such a way that everyone in agriculture has gotten angry rather than thought about what was said.  Essentially, he indicated that civilization has evolved through time from what was, for most of history, an agrarian culture to an industrialized economy and now we are in the middle of a technology-based information economy.  He was correct, but his comments leave one wondering if he truly understands the amount of information and technology that are utilized in agriculture today.

Take that bunch of cows in the image above; they were from a registered herd of Angus that have been carefully selected for over 60 years to produce efficient, fertile, highly versatile animals that provide us with some of the highest quality meat in history.  Each animal is carefully measured in many ways, the data collected, collated and compared against their genetic scores which are developed from genomic testing.  They are rigorously selected based on stringent criteria so that only the best animals are allowed to produce breeding stock for future generations.

They are fed protein and mineral supplements that are carefully formulated to meet the nutritional requirements that the animals cannot attain from forage alone.  They are vaccinated to prevent disease.  They are cared for using scientifically-based methods that reduce the amount of stress to which they are subjected.  The forage they eat is also managed based on best scientifically proven practices.

That's just a small part of agriculture -- raising cattle on a ranch.  I won't even address what happens when they head up the production chain to eventual harvest and presentation in the meat case at your local supermarket.  Technology is everywhere.

When you look at farming it gets even crazier.  The tractors are guided by computers to precisely apply the correct amounts of seed, fertilizer, etc. based on satellite images.  The seeds which are planted are frequently the result of advanced breeding techniques -- including genetic manipulation to enhance disease, chemical and pest resistance.  We have more and better quality food than ever before in history -- thanks to the application of technology to agriculture -- and it costs virtually the same as it did 50+ years ago!

The candidate in question mentions the brainpower required to farm vs. work in a factory vs. create the technology which is so pervasive in society today.  I should introduce him to the rocket scientist I know who ranches in Arizona.  He truly is a rocket scientist -- used to work at NASA.  Or, maybe he should meet some of the scientists unraveling the genetic code which determines disease resistance.  Oh, wait, those are scientists.  Yep, I have worked with them most of my career.  They may be able to manipulate a gene, but most of them have no clue how their work impacts the real world.  They are isolated in their cocoon of technology of which they know much, but they don't know what to do with it much of the time.

I think, ultimately, that is the issue.  I call it intellectual snobbery.  It happens in every field of endeavor.  I've seen it in many, many scientific and engineering fields -- and I've seen it in agriculture.  It goes something like this: "If you don't have a PhD in blah, blah, blah, there is no way you can understand it.  You obviously don't have the intelligence to be able to comprehend it, or you would have a PhD in blah, blah, blah."  Sometimes it isn't just a PhD -- with Engineers it is simply a degree in Engineering -- and they have ranks.  I think Aerospace is at the top and Civil is at the bottom.  Each believes if you "aren't one of us, you ain't nothing."

Back to agriculture -- "If you try to learn how to ranch after a career in something else, you had better be prepared to fail."  "If you didn't grow up in it you will never be able to master it."  Those are incorrect too.

Getting back to the article:  I don't like the candidate mentioned in the article.  Period.  I think he would be worse for our country than most of the others.  Just look at the problems in his state and you should agree.  We shouldn't blast him for what was said, though.  Instead, we should realize that what he said is a symptom of something deeper.  The average person, or the self-proclaimed intellectual elite has no idea about what is involved in production agriculture.  Most of them don't even know what is necessary to get the food to their table.  Billionaire Presidential candidates probably have large staffs that take care of it for them anyway -- they don't even know their food comes from the grocery store -- let alone what it took to get it to the store.

If you don't like the candidate, talk about why you don't like the candidate; don't just blast him by taking his words out of context and failing to address the real issue -- ignorance.  Yep, brilliant people can be ignorant.  If you don't know about something, you are ignorant of that subject.  It doesn't mean you lack the gray matter to understand it given time and effort.  I wish all of the candidates would apply a little more of their gray matter to learning about food production.  Those in agriculture just don't add up to enough votes for it to make a difference to them -- at least in their mind.  We need to explain why it does matter.  Even billionaires won't live long without food.

Nature's Energy Food

I picked up this small handful of native pecans off of our front sidewalk.  They aren't very big but they are very flavorful.  It's probably because their oil content seems to be higher than many of the cultivated varieties.  That oil makes them high in energy.  We had a pecan pie made from some off of the same tree for Thanksgiving.

Most people in this part of the world don't bother with the native pecans since they are so small; they prefer the cultivated and grafted varieties that produce much larger nuts.  As a consequence, most of the smaller, native pecans are wasted.  Some, of course, are eaten by wildlife, including the pervasive squirrels which seem to be the most prolific of the local fauna.  Many, however, are buried by the squirrels to come up as trees in the spring.  I never would have thought that I would view seedling pecan trees as weeds.

One of our dogs -- the redbone coonhound -- can smell the pecans in the ground.  We find her digging them up from where the squirrels had buried them.  If you watch, you will see her sniffing around the yard until she comes across one of the subterranean treasures which she then will dig up and eat.  I'm sure the shell isn't good for her, but I don't know how to stop her from doing it.

Growing up I wasn't a big fan of pecans.  I still don't care for pecans in cookies -- except for Pecan Sandies and maybe a few others where the nut has been ground to tiny pieces.  I definitely don't care for them in chocolate chip cookies but, I have found that as an adult, it's hard to beat a Pecan Pie.  My preferred way to eat it is on top of a bowl of Bluebell Ice Cream.

This was a bumper crop year for pecans in this part of Texas.  A number of people have mentioned that their trees are loaded and I have observed it to be true as I drive about the area; it's easy to spot the clusters of nuts hanging high on the bare branches.

Every few days I will walk around the front yard picking up the pecans that have fallen.  I often find half-eaten ones that the squirrels got to first.  They waste an awful lot of them.  We should be getting close to the end of the crop since most have fallen from the trees.  Now, I just need to get them all shelled....

Thankful for Agriculture

On this fifth day of challenge I am thankful for agriculture.  It seemed appropriate that on this day that is often marked by feasts and the gathering of families and friends that my focus be on that which is the "hands and feet" of providing us with the food we eat.

The grain sorghum in the photo above might not seem like the appropriate photo to represent food, but this field southeast of Amarillo, Texas, to me represents perfection in the agricultural "arts" for lack of a better term.  We don't normally consume sorghum directly but, they do in many parts of the world -- especially in Africa.  In Niger, of which I have previously written, Millet is a primary crop; it is a very close relative to what you see in the photo.

Many parts of the country are still harvesting this years grain crops.  The wet spring delayed planting and in many areas the crops were late maturing.  There are some still harvesting corn with snow on the ground.  A blizzard is crossing the Plains today and those involved in raising livestock are out in it caring for the animals which will eventually end up as food on our plate.

Without agriculture it is likely that I wouldn't be sitting at this computer.  Agriculture allows us to differentiate our labor so that we don't spend the majority of every day out gathering fruits and nuts and hopefully shooting or, trapping wild game for our sustenance.  A single farmer in the United States feeds many, many people, freeing the rest of us to pursue other things such as developing technology.

It is thought that agriculture is the foundation of civilization.  Without it, we would be dispersed about the countryside in small groups that would be able to maintain a subsistence through the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.  Farming allowed us to concentrate in cities for mutual protection which led to systems of governance due to the close daily interactions with others. I suppose that particular "benefit" might be questionable in a lot of minds today due to the poor behavior by many of those who hold offices within those current governmental structures.

Wherever you might be on this day of thanksgiving, be thankful for those who produce the bounteous food which you consume.  Be mindful that there are many throughout the world who don't have enough to eat and consider ways you might help those less fortunate -- and don't just consider -- do.  The greatest sign of thankfulness is a willingness to share with those in need.

Happy Thanksgiving.

"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.  Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field." -- Exodus 23:16

Biscuits

Homemade biscuits and wild grape jelly

Are mighty hard to beat;

Especially when you first get up

And crave something to eat.

Add a side of bacon

And maybe scrambled eggs;

It'll put a little spring into

Your fresh-woke, wobbly legs.

Some people like to skip

The first meal of the day

But, I need something filling

To send me on my way.

I can't live on coffee,

Although I need its boost,

Without it I might as well

Just stay upon my roost.

I'm glad the one I married

Is such a talented cook

And rustles up the things I like

That aren't always in a book.

She's not much on breakfast

Eaten early in the day

Though she might grab a little snack

Somewhere along the way.

One thing she will do for me

That I appreciate

Is to make a little extra

Biscuits for the plate.

They were fresh last night for supper

And I ate more than a few.

I'll eat some more this morning

Yep, that's what I'll do!