Happy Wheat! Happy Easter!

   The wheat has begun to head out. You can see a lady bug there.It's always nice to see the good bugs. I haven't seen any aphids, but that is not important as long as the lady bugs are on duty.
   We began water and fertilizer on the wheat. It has perked up quickly. We have also been killing weeds in the almond orchards. Other than that we have been waiting to plant cotton. Ruben finished rebuilding the transmission on the old tractor. We'll put it in the field next week when, and if we plant.
   The weather is a little unsettled. Conditions have been fabulous this week. Now we are waiting for a storm to pass. There is more rain and cooler temperatures due the end of the week. For now, the cotton seed is safe in the sack where it belongs. We are going to celebrate Easter and see what conditions are like on Monday.

    Since many of you are cooking for family gatherings this weekend I thought I would share a piece I wrote on cooking.

My Joy of Cooking

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2013

               My family knows I love to cook. One time when we were talking about food, my mother-in-law asked when I became interested in cooking.  I have two reasons.

            First, I believe if you eat you should have an interest in cooking. It’s that old farmer ethic of learning to do for your self. I am pretty sure the world is not here to wait on me hand and foot, and I am OK with that. There is also the deep satisfaction of learning to do things.

            Second, some of you know I had issues and eventually had my esophagus taken out. I couldn’t eat for so long that now that I can eat I want to enjoy each mouthful.

            For me, cooking is not a duty- it is a joy. Cooking is a pleasure and a creative outlet. There is something primal about handling food, that’s the pleasure side. And, there is the challenge of creating a meal that is tasty, easy to prepare and good for me. That is definitely a creative challenge.

            I have long said we have become disconnected from our food supply since so few of us farm anymore. We have also become disconnected from our food since we make cooking a duty instead of the joy it can be.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Peace on Earth. Good food for all.

A Day on the Farm

   Well, the rain didn't materialize after all that. It did, however get windy. We lost twelve trees. Sad.

   The weather has gotten warm enough to tempt a cotton farmer to start planting. We are going to irrigate and fertilize the wheat next week to keep us busy and distracted from the temptation. 

   This picture barely begins to capture some of the beauty of Spring here in the Valley. On some of the raw ground you can find fields of wild flowers blooming. John Muir called them "Bee Pastures" when he walked across the Valley in 1868. This field glowed with bright electric purple for a few weeks. You can read in my March 3 post about how the Valley looks pretty in green.

A Day on the Farm

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2013

            Some days I feel like I was shot out of a cannon and I know many of you feel the same way. I am already running behind when the alarm goes off.

            After the dogs take me for our morning walk I hop in the truck and head off. During the season there is-

            -water to change

            -I need to check in with the men who work for 

             us

            -fix anything that has broken since yesterday

            - check fields to monitor plant growth, bugs and 

              weeds

            -monitor crop prices

            It’s a juggling act. While I keep all the daily stuff going, there are budgets to prepare, reports to file, bills to pay and preparation for the next project.

            All it takes to upset this tightly choreographed dance is-

            -one broken bolt

            -one flat tire

            -or, one dead battery

Then we have to stop, drop what we are doing and deal with that little disaster.

Farming is a combination of living in the moment and preparing for the future. I know

many of you work the same way. My days just include tractors, dirt and wide open spaces.

I hope Y'all have a great week!

Almonds Coming to Life

    Each Spring is an amazing transition to life. The almond trees go from dormant, to buds, to blossoms and leafing out in the course of a month. I asked Sheryl to share some of her photos so you could see the transition. The first picture is mine. The rest are Sheryl's. She has been brave and patient. The bravery comes from the fact that she doesn't like bees and they have been busy working in the trees. It takes patience to get the right shot. Some days the wind is blowing. Other days the light is not right.

                             Pink bud

                                        

   Can you see the baby almond in the center where the flower petals have fallen off? In another week all the flower petals will have fallen off and the green leaves will be filling the trees.

   We have been watering the trees this past week. Next week we will be killing weeds- again. We will also put on another application of fertilizer.
   We have been working cotton beds, getting ready for planting. This warm weather gives that false sense of security that Spring is in the air. There is still plenty of unstable weather ahead. We'll leave the seed safe in the sack for now. But, the planter is ready, the tractors are ready and the fields are ready.

Paddling Fast

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2013

                Driving by a farm is a lot like watching a duck on a pond.

            When you drive by a farm you rarely see much happening. Even during harvest we are focused on four rows at a time while the other 1600 rows wait. You may see an empty field when you drive by, but someone’s thinking about that field. Maybe it is getting irrigated. Maybe it was cultivated yesterday. Maybe it’s ready to harvest. Even during the off season a lot is getting done as we prepare the fields for the next crop.

            It’s a lot like watching a duck on a pond. He’s just slowly moving along. But, you look underneath and he’s paddling like crazy. On the farm there is a lot going on during the seasons, even if you don’t see it. There are-

            -fields to irrigate
            -weeds to cultivate
            -equipment to fix
            -every week I scout the fields for bugs

I think you kind of get the idea.

            One of the things that attracted me to farming was the quite country side. It can be quiet—and peaceful. But, often-just out of sight, we are paddling like crazy.

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P

That Was Close!

     The week began with forecasts of heavy winds and rain. We got the trees sprayed to protect them from molds and blossom rot. The first front passed through without much ado. Thursday evening and Friday morning had a fair amount of rain. I had fifteen hundredths at the house, but we had half an inch out on the west side. By lunchtime Friday the storm had passed and the bees were back at work pollinating the almonds.

   We are passed peak bloom now. The petals are fluttering of the trees now and it looks like a light snow in the breeze. It is always amazing when the trees change from dormant, to blooming to fully leafed out in the matter of a few weeks. Spring is in the air.
   The weather is supposed to warm up  this week. Maybe a couple of days of 80 degree weather. That would give us a false sense of security. I have seen guys plant cotton in 80 degree weather the end of March and then have to re-plant after the weather turned cold and wet again.There is still plenty of unsettled of weather ahead.

Three Cheers for Modern, Conventional Farming!

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2013

                2012 was a good news year for conventional farmers. Three academic studies came out supporting the benefits of modern, conventional farming.

            The Stanford School of Medicine reviewed almost three hundred studies. Their conclusion? One researcher is quoted as saying, “There isn’t much difference between organic and conventional foods.”
(New York Daily news.com)

            The American Academy of Pediatrics wrote, “in the long term there is no direct evidence that consuming an organic diet leads to improved health or lower risk of disease.” Their recommendation? Kids should eat more fruits and vegetables, less processed and fast food.

            Oxford University’s Journal of Environmental Management concluded, “organic products such as milk, cereals and pork generate more greenhouse gases than their conventional counterparts.”

            I’ll post the links to these reports on my blog so you can read them yourselves.

Predictably, the true believers in organic food went on the warpath, that’s OK. We need to keep talking about how create the best food system possible.

I am proud of what I do. We grow food and fiber for a hungry world. These studies confirmed what we have known all along, what we do is good for our customers and good for the planet.

Sources-

Stanford School of Medicine- http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Weighs-In-For-the-First-Time-on-Organic-Foods-for-Children.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

University of Oxford-

American Academy of Pediatrics- http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Weighs-In-For-the-First-Time-on-Organic-Foods-for-Children.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

Quick Bloom

This week's photo was done by Sheryl.

Can you see the bee in the left hand blossom? She has much more patience than I do for that kind of thing. She has taken some beautiful almond blossom photos over the years.

   Almond bloom has come quickly. Most years bloom lasts two weeks. After cold winters it can be over in eight or nine days. Thursday afternoon we barely had a few blossoms open at the house. Friday afternoon one variety was about half open. When I got home yesterday the orchard was glowing with blossoms. 
   Of course, the weather man forecasts twenty percent chance of rain today and fifty percent chance of rain mid week. The nice weather has been glorious, I just wish it could have waited until this week. We know there is still unsettled weather out there. So, tomorrow we will be spraying to protect the blooms from fungus and mold caused by the rain. The blossoms are fairly tender for the next few weeks. Fungus and frost can take a crop overnight. We will be on pins and needles until the danger has passed.
   Elsewhere on the farm. We have been busy in the shop working on equipment this week. Ruben has everything squared away for the Spring. The planter and harrows are ready ready for next month. Even the fertilizer tool bar is ready for May. We started working cotton beds, knocking down the winter weeds.

The Valley Looks Pretty in Green

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2013

                The Valley looks pretty in green. The rainfall in December got the grass growing and the foothills look gorgeous.

            I haven’t worked cattle in twenty years, but I still pay attention to grass conditions in the hills. It’s hard to raise cattle when there’s no feed in the hills.

            John Muir walked across the Valley on his first trip to Yosemite in 1868. He described the Valley floor as ‘bee pastures’. Muir came across in April. The Valley was full of wildflowers from one end to the other. It must have been beautiful. Of course, Muir was up in the Sierras before the summer heat hit and everything got barbequed.

            Sheryl’s great grandfather came over from Switzerland. He worked all over the state milking cows and then settled out between Firebaugh and Dos Palos a hundred years ago. I suspect they got here in the Spring when things were lush, green and cool and he thought, “Wow, this looks like home.” I bet a few months later, when the heat hit they were thinking, “What happened?”

            Our climate is dominated by that summer heat and things get dried up fast. But, for now there is green grass in the hills and even along the roadways. The Valley looks pretty in green.

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P