This Breaks My Heart

We are in mourning. We are tearing the orchard around the house. It was a matter of time. The trees have been collapsing the last four years. Ten Lined June Beetle has torn up the roots. We have also had a fungus in the trees. But, it still hurts.

 This is the first time in twenty years we have not had trees surrounding our home.

Other than that things are good on the farm. We will start defoliating this next week. Meanwhile we are busy in the shop servicing and repairing equipment.

A Food Policy Catch-22

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright August 2013                                                                

                  An environmental group has done the math and calculated how much food we throw out and their numbers are astounding. They then translate that into how much water we “waste” and how much fertilizer, etc. we wouldn’t need to use if we just didn’t throw out so much food.

            Here’s the catch though- at the same time the enviros want us to throw out less food, food activists want us to eat more fresh food. Guess what? Fresh food spoils faster than processed food.

            If a farmer picks peaches when they are perfectly ripe they will get bruised between the farm and your store. Americans are notoriously picky shoppers. We don’t like bananas that have even a speck on them.

            I think the answer is fresher fruits and veggies and we accept a certain amount of loss. But, someone is going to have to explain that to our environmental friends.

Book Signing Saturday September 14th...

at A Clovis Book Barn.

http://www.clovisbookbarn.com/event_exploring2013.php
I will be at the Clovis Book Barn signing copies of "Ten Reasons: Finding Balance on Environmental Issues"  from Noon to 4pm next Saturday. If you are in the area drop on by. Great selection of books and a great coffee shop, Kuppa Joy, is just up the street. All the ingredients for a great day.

Meanwhile back on the farm-

   We had to spray bugs in the cotton. Aphids cause honeydew which makes the fiber hard to spin. I really hate spraying this late, but in a globalized market quality is everything.
   All the almonds are up and on their way to Blue Diamond. "A can a week is all we ask."
   We are in the shop getting equipment ready for harvest.

One of this week's radio scripts-

Flat

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright December  2012

               Yeah the Valley is flat. But, at least my view every day is framed by the Coast Range on the West and the Sierras on the East. It’s beautiful.

            I can watch the sun creep over the Sierras and light up the Coast range in the morning as I head out to the ranch. And, I can watch the sun set over the same coast range and light up the Sierras with pink alpenglow.

            It’s flat here, but it’s not as flat as some other places. We were in the Midwest and Sheryl said, “It’s flat.” I said, “It’s flat three states up and two states down. When the wind starts blowing in Montana it goes through five or six states before it gets tot eh mountains in Kentucky.”

            Yeah, the Valley is flat, but  it’s flat and fabulous! We have wide open spaces that make up some of the best farmland on the planet.  And, we have some of the most amazing mountains in the world. People come from all over to see Yosemite, but there are plenty of other amazing places in the Sierras if you’re willing to go for a little walk.

Labor Day 2013- I Don't Understand the Term Unskilled Labor

Labor Day 2013-Skilled and Unskilled Work

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright May 2013

               I don’t know what they mean by ‘skilled’ and ‘unskilled labor’. I don’t know what they mean by ‘knowledge workers.’ Even hoeing weeds or irrigating on the farm takes skill. Even just working on a farm takes knowledge. And, as much respect I have for education as a school board member and a college instructor, there are just some things you cannot learn in the classroom;  some things you can only learn by experience.

               Of course I understand it takes a lot more time to learn eye surgery than it does to learn how to drive a fork lift. But, if you think anyone can drive a fork lift go and take some time at a packing shed and watch those guys in action. It takes skill to operate a forklift in tight spaces and on tight schedules.

               My point is even simple tasks benefit from skill and experience. They are worth learning to do well. In fact, if you can’t do simple things right I wonder if you can do the complex things well.

               So, as we head to Labor Day I want to honor all labor. Thank you all for the things you do to provide the goods and services we all enjoy.

Lessons from Indy- Wag More, Bark Less

This was played on the radio recently.

Lessons from Indy

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright March, 2012

               A few months ago I introduced you all to my dog, Indy. Riding around with Indy I have learned some interesting lessons I thought I would share with you.  Things like-

               -Great everyone personally.

-Roll down the windows once in a while and stick your head out. There is nothing like fresh air and the feel of the wind rushing though your hair.

-Give cats and catty people space.

-Enjoy your exercise with relish and enthusiasm. Make sure to sniff everything while you are out for a walk.

-When it is time for a nap; stretch out completely, preferably in the sun.

-What you are doing now is important, even if it is only taking a nap.

-When friends come home, let them know you are glad to see them.
There is nothing wrong with a little affection.

-Let them know you appreciate their cooking, even if it is only simple kibble.

-There is a lot to be said for loyalty.

-When you don’t know what to say, just being there is important.

For the record, Indy’s favorite bumper sticker is “Wag more, bark less.”
That’s probably a good reminder for all of us.

I hope you all have a great week!

P

A Truly Endangered Species

Almond harvest is in full swing in our neighborhood, and way ahead of schedule. [You should have seen the look on the face of the lady in church when I asked a fellow almond grower, "How are you nuts?" But, that's another story.]

We are putting the last irrigation on the cotton. After Labor Day we will head in to the shop and get ready for cotton harvest.

A Truly Endangered Species

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright May 2013

               I appreciate everyone’s concern for endangered species. There is one vanishing breed that doesn’t get a lot of press coverage.  A hundred years ago the range of this species’ covered the entire continental United States. This adaptable critter could be found in the deserts of the Southwest and the coastal plains of Florida and California. They were recorded in the foothills of the Sierras and the Rockies all the way up into the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana. In the last century population has collapsed from sixty five percent of its peak population to less than two percent. I am talking about the American Farmer.

            Yes, a hundred years ago sixty five percent of the American population lived and worked on small farms all over the country. Even here in farm country today less than one in three jobs is connected with agriculture. There are fewer of us every day.

            The irony is that the American government is actively protecting dung beetles and other critters they consider important, but it seems like the government is on an extermination program regarding our farmers. Between cutting off water and piling on paperwork more and more small farms are disappearing all the time. Normally a steep decline in a population would be a cause for concern. Ironically, the guys who are causing the problem in this case just keep pouring on the pressure.

***

We'll keep working hard to provide for our family and for yours. 

I hope you all have a good week.

P

A Farm Doesn't Come With An Instructional Manual

What are pictures of a books doing on a blog about the farm? For those of you who know me that question answers itself. In this case, A Book Barn in Clovis has picked up my book,  Ten Reasons: Finding Balance on Environmental Issues. So, now you have a chance to support a local business and a local author.

For those who haven't been there, A Book Barn is at 640 Clovis Avenue. They have everything. When you are done book shopping, Kuppa Joy, a great independent coffee shop is just a block up on the same side of the street.

   Meanwhile, back on the farm- the first round of almonds are up and off to market. We'll shake the next varieties later this coming week. We are putting the last irrigations on the cotton. We are also working the wheat ground. We will bed it up soon. The farm didn't come with an instructional manual. A lot fo what we learned, we learned along the way

A Farm Doesn’t Come With an Instruction Manual

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright July 2013

A farm doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Sure, there are things you can learn from the family and from the neighbors. There are some things you can learn from books at school. But, even gleaning all that experience and knowledge you still have to apply it day by day, season, by season and year by year. Research from the university can tell you at what soil temperature you should plant cotton. But, they can’t tell you when that will be or what to do if the weather turns cold after you go ahead and plant. The manufacturers can give you a service schedule for a piece of equipment, but we can usually find something they didn’t anticipate.

            The simple definition of profit is income over expenses, but no one can tell you which crops are going to be profitable this year, much less a few years down the road. I have to make decisions months or years before I know what conditions will be at harvest.

            A lot of the lessons learned were from the School of Hard Knocks. (Our team colors should be black and blue.) There is no way to put them in an instruction manual, and if you did they would probably get ignored anyways. I wouldn’t have believed some of these things if someone told them to me when I started.

I hope you all have a great week!

P

Seasonal Foods

Here you can see our grand kids Rowen and Persia helping me check the almonds. Harvest began a few weeks ahead of normal. We started picking them up this week, which is a week before we normal even start shaking. Now we wait for the weights to see how the crop is. 

While we are all enjoying those summer fruits and vegetables I was reminded about a radio bit I did a year and a half ago.

Seasonal Food

By Paul H. Betancourt

February 2012

            I wait all year long for the Naval Oranges to come in. Harvest starts in November but I wait until December when they are that much sweeter. Then it is fresh squeezed orange juice almost every morning until March. After that I really don’t drink much orange juice until the following December. There just is nothing like fresh squeezed orange juice and I am willing to wait.

          We have gotten kind of spoiled that last thirty years or so. We are used to having everything available all the time. When I was a kid we had to wait all year for fresh strawberries in the Spring. Now we can get strawberries all year long. I think we have lost something in the process.

          There are some foods I just eat at certain times of the year. For example, I eat a lot of soup in December, not so much in July. I eat a lot of salads in July, not so much in December.  It’s kind of like Christmas baking. I only make fudge during the holidays.

          It is said, ‘variety is the spice of life.’ Well, seasonal variety spices up my life.

I hope you all have a great week!

P