Why Fight the Government?

Spring is in the air, or at least the vineyards.

Why Fight the Government?

By Paul H. Betancourt

March 2016

Over the years I have spent a lot of time away from the farm and my family in Sacramento or DC fighting one proposal or another. I am starting to think maybe I have been doing it all wrong. Why fight them? If I am going to spend so much time going to government mandated training session and filling out forms I might as well go to work for them. What was the old ad campaign? “If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em.”

The nice thing about being a government employee is I would have regular hours, regular pay, benefits and federal holidays. No more fourteen hour days during harvest. No more worrying about paying the employees or if I was going to get paid. How many federal holidays are there? That’s like getting two weeks off during the year. And, no more worrying if Sheryl and I were going to be eating cat food when we retire, or even if we can retire. This idea is looking better and better all the time.

With my experience and years of experience I would be somewhere between a GS-12 and a GS-14. I would be willing to start at the lower end and I sure would appreciate the security.

Now for those of you who this is a ridiculous idea I have one modest request- back off a little bit. Farmers already work 50-60 hours per week. When you add another day or even a half day for yet another training session or wad of forms to fill out, where is that time supposed to come from? How would you like me adding another half day of work to your week? Yeah, not so funny now is it?

On top of that I make my living growing things, not filling out forms. We have lost the idea of the means and the ends. Producing food is the end. Meetings and paperwork are means to the end, not ends in themselves.

I get it, a certain amount of paperwork is needed. Continuing education is an important part of professions such as nursing and there is some benefit for farmers. My concern is the continued encroachment the demand for more and more training and more and more paperwork. If we are going to do this, let’s make it user friendly. Let’s be honest, a lot fo these forms do not conform to logic and plain English. Please remember, you spend all day every day in your paperwork. I might see it once a year. On top of that each bureaucracy has its own system. 

A little history lesson- There are three sections to the Declaration of Independence. The first section says what the Founders are doing. In the second section Jefferson makes the case against the King for abusing their rights. And, in the third section they declare their independence.

Let’s take a look at the second section for a moment. Jefferson has a long list of abuses like taxation without representation. My particular favorite is-

 “He has erected a multitude of New Offices and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”

Do you see it? In a supposedly free country we are doing the same thing. I have to pay fees to various government agencies so they have the funds to police me for this and that. These government employees have secure jobs, secure benefits, secure retirement and usually no clue what I am doing in the field. One time I had to show an ag inspector what he was supposed to be inspecting.

I don’t know of any of my farming neighbors who would really want to be government employees. But, most of us would appreciate a little slack. We are working our rear ends off in a difficult profession trying to make a living growing food for you all. If you have an idea of how to do my job better please come and show me, instead of threatening me with fines and lawsuits. Or, offer me a job. If you really want to run my farm, let’s nationalize the farms, make me a government employee and let’s see how that works. I don’t think you will like the results because it has never worked anywhere else. China starved thirty million of its people through centrally planned farming. The Soviets had bread lines. The North Koreans can barely feed themselves today. The genius of our system is free people whose prosperity overflows to the benefit of all.

The guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence believed our freedoms were based in a strong system of free and independent farmers. He said-

“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country, and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds.”

(Letter to John Jay August 23, 1785)

I think there is a better solution than farmers becoming government employees, as tempting as that is some days. How about we take a page from Hippocrates when it comes to government- “First do no harm.”

I Took a City Girl to the Farm Show

This always amazes me. A month ago the trees were dormant and now we already have little nutlets.

I have hired a literary agent to help me sell books. She is so 'city' one of her nicknames is "Hollywood." As part of her education I took her to the Farm Show in Tulare last month. I thought you would enjoy hearing what she thought.

For the record, she really liked the ice bream from Superior Dairy. Apparently they don't have ice cream that good in Hollywood. 

Go Superior and COS! 

You Can Teach A City Girl New Tricks

by Dana Kennon

Guest blogger

If you had told me that one day I’d attend the World Ag Expo, I would have asked, “What’s an Ag?”  As a bona fide city girl, my entire exposure to life on the farm had been limited to watching Green Acres and just driving past them on California’s Interstate 5.  We’d pass farm after farm with nice neat rows of green and I’d try to imagine what life was like and why people always said that farming was such a hard life.  I mean, how hard can it be?  You drop seeds into dirt, the rain waters them, workers do the picking and then you get a check, right?

So here I was, riding along in a white pickup truck, waiting in a never-ending line of white pickup trucks to park in a giant field of white pickup trucks to visit my first Ag event, The World Ag Expo in Tulare, California.  Thank God I had a private tour guide, local farmer Paul Betancourt, who was patient enough to also act as Ag expert and farm-speak interpreter. On to the show. 

My first lesson that day… AG BOYS LOVE TOYS and SIZE REALLY DOES MATTER.  As we entered the Expo, we found ourselves face to face with machinery that could comfortably house a family of four.  It was like being in the middle of a Transformers movie.  The tires alone on these mega-contraptions were bigger than my friend’s Manhattan apartment.  Paul showed me the inner workings of one of the enormous hay machines.  These monsters now come complete with air conditioning, a stereo system, GPS, walk-in closets, fully stocked bar, swimming pool and a putting green.  So I thought to myself, if these things can drive along, cut the hay, scoop it up, smoosh it, tie it and then spit it out again in a tidy little bundle, what the heck do farmers do all day?  Have country folk become slackers?  Perhaps the tough part of farming these days was all about the care and feeding of livestock.  So, onto the dairy exhibits…

What I knew about dairy cows you could fit into the head of a pin.  In the MOO section, booth after booth was set up and gizmos and gadgets displayed.  I listened to people speaking in their native tongue, I call it “farm speak” which I understand is only marginally different than “ranch speak”, but it was all Greek to me.  Thank goodness I had that Betancourt automatic translator by my side.

As we worked our way through the crowd I realized the multitude of milking machines displayed began to resemble terrifying mid-evil torture devices.  When curiosity got the better of me, I paused to ask my guide some questions about these wicked looking things and the poor moos that had to endure them.  Not having been a dairy farmer, Paul deferred to the nearest expert, Wilford Brimley.  No, not the real Wilford Brimley, but a great look-alike (you know… the Quaker Oatmeal guy who also starred in Cocoon with the round head and big hairy handlebar mustache).  My question, “When the cow’s utters stop giving, does the machine stop pulling?  Does it stop yanking, squeezing and sucking????  Does it understand NO MORE MEANS NO MORE???  I suddenly realized I was frightening my little Wilford who was attempting to give a polite response while I stood there crossing my arms in front of my chest as if it was Fort Knox.  Apparently I had subconsciously been protecting the little ‘B’ cups the good lord had given me.  Who would have ever thought I’d be empathetic to a cow?

So what did I learn at the Ag Expo?

Forget about, “Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night…” you sissy postal workers.  The American farmer is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through all weather, their spouse’s mood swings and even teenager’s drama.

They have a partnership with God yet they have to compete with Mother Nature and sometimes Mother Nature wins.  So the rest of us, who when we do a good job, follow all the directions and do it on time, we are rewarded, but for farmers, despite their tremendously hard work, it’s a crap shoot.  Every season, every crop and threw every major storm, freeze, and bug disaster they push on.    But, despite these odds, they continue to feed every darn one of us multiple times a day, 365 days a year.  So what did I learn about farmers and AG?  I learned they are truly unsung heroes. 

 God bless them, everyone.

What is the Culture in Agriculture?

I thought I would share some images from the farm this week. 

Of course, it has been, as my friend Vickie would say, bee-utiful. Just so you know, as surly as I get in July, I enjoy every moment of Spring days. This is very unusual. Often during bloom there is rain and wind. This week you could stand in the orchard and hear the bees a-buzzing all day long. What a delight.

I know some of you are concerned that I am allowed to wander around the country side without adult supervision. Well, now you know who keeps an eye on me. 
     While I was working on the power steering for Ruben's truck I hear this deep sigh, I look over and there is my faithful hound completely relaxed. 
     Next you see him inspecting the trees with me. A few years ago we were doing this and all of a sudden he ran over a few rows. Next thing I know he is on his back doing his Happy Dance. He had found a dead bird to roll in. The hurt look on his face later told me he couldn't understand why I didn't want to let him back in the truck with me. Stinky Boy.

We don't grow grapes, but there are times the geometry of the vineyards is stunning.

What is the Culture of Agriculture?

By Paul H. Betancourt

February 2016

Recently I was reading a book by a chef who critical of modern agriculture. I like what he had to say about flavor, but some of the other stuff was trite. He did have one question that got me thinking- what is the culture of agriculture? That’s a good one.

One of Merriam Webster’s definitions of culture is- “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations”

That definition fits farming. In a world of specialists the farmer needs to integrate a vast body of human knowledge to succeed. I need know as much about taxes as my accountant and as much about fixing tractors as a factory mechanic.

           

If you want to know what the culture in agriculture is, here are some of the ingredients-

Family- There is nothing like family when it works. There is nothing like family when it doesn’t work. I have seen it go both ways. There is nothing like it when you see a healthy family working together; sometimes two or three generations living and working on the farm. It is a thing of beauty. Of course, I have seen families grenade apart. In one sense farm families are like any other families. The same fragile egos and petty jealousies can exist on the farm too. But, I suspect there are more family businesses in farm country than there are in town.

Ethics- the farm may be the last place in America where a man’s handshake is his bond. We rented houses the first ten years of our marriage and never signed a rental agreement. A handshake was enough to seal the deal. Now we have to read pages of fine print to use a free app on our phones.

Hard work- I remember reading James Herriot’s books about life in the English countryside when I was a kid. At funerals the common compliment was, so and so was a “hard worker.” Being called a hard worker was the highest compliment. Hard work is a prime virtue on the farm. Laziness is scorned.

            Farm kids learn early. They often have chores at a young age. It is not a form of child abuse. They learn the value of work early on.

            A friend once told me a professional is someone who works until the job gets done. We not be members of the ‘professions’ like doctors and lawyers. But we are professionals. Farming is not a 9 to 5 kind of job. You work until the job gets done.

In farming, unlike perhaps other areas of our society, there is a direct line between hard work and success. You may still fail if you work hard. Hail falls on the just and the unjust alike. But, you will not succeed if you are not out there every day pushing to get the job done.

Outdoors-Farmers love being outdoors, but we do not romanticize Nature. Perhaps this is because we work in the natural world, we don’t just play in it. That working relationship with Nature tempers my view of Nature. You bet I appreciate the glory of a beautiful sunrise, then I saddle up and get to work.

            In addition to working outdoors we also work within in the rhythms of nature. We plant cotton in the Spring and harvest in the Fall. You can’t so it the other way around. We prune trees in the winter and irrigate in the summer. There is a natural rhythm to each day and to each season.

Food- We can get as lazy about food as anyone else. But, you cannot get fresher food than you can get from the farm. Especially in California, we have the freshest and most varied food around us.

            Farms are known for having big feasts. One of the highlights on our ranch is the harvest bbq when I cook for the men who work for us. It’s some of the best food you can have all year and it’s served with a side of satisfaction for bringing in the crop. I can’t help but think of Cookie in the movie “City Slickers”; “It’s hot and it’s brown and there’s plenty of it.”

Independence and Interdependence- I love the image of the lone farmer standing against the odds. It does take a strong individual to make a farm go. There is no one out there by your side before sunup when it’s time to milk the cows. Folks from the government aren’t out late at night when you are pushing to get the crop in before it rains. Farming is also done in community. Roundups and barn raisings are done with the help of the neighbors.

When we lived on the ranch in the Coast Range behind Coalinga the nearest neighbor was waaaay down the road. But, we had a complete sense of security and we knew we could count on them any time. We took care of them and they took care of us.

You need a sense of freedom to be out there on your own and knowing that the responsibility rests on your shoulders. You also need to know you are counting on others.

A sense of humility- I have seen great looking crops evaporate before my eyes. But, I have never seen a crop get better.

            Planting a crop will create a sense of humility in a fellow. I can go through all the work of preparing the ground, choosing the seed and waiting for the right moment to plant with all the skill and experience at my command, but the seeds sprout because of the miracle of life within them not anything I have done. I could do all the same work and if I planted pebbles or jellybeans nothing would happen would it? My ability to make a living is rooted in the life in those seeds of which I had nothing to do. All my skills and ability cannot make on seed sprout, and that gives me a sense of humility.

            I recently found a passage in “Nectar in a Sieve” by Kamala Markandaya about a farm family in rural India.

Nature is like a wild animal that you have trained to work for you. So long as you are vigilantly with thought and care, so long will it give you its aid; but look away for an instant, be heedless and forgetful, and it has you by the throat [57].

That makes sense to me as a farmer. Just about the time I think things are OK and here come the bugs.

Farmers are the original do-it-yourselfers. DIY is real popular in some circle these days. Perhaps it’s another fad. On the farm it is a way of life. When you live out in the country, it’s the middle of the night and it’s calving time you can’t call for help or wait til morning, you have to know what you are doing and do it then. So farmers learn to weld and wire, fix and mend, all the skills need to get the job done.

The self esteem movement has been popular in some circles for thirty years. But, they have missed something. Self esteem doesn’t come from someone patting you on the back and giving you a ribbon for showing up. Self esteem comes as you gain greater and greater skills, greater and greater mastery of the details of life.

Knowledge- When our Pastor’s wife learned I was going into farming she said, “You can’t outsmart a smart farmer.” She was a Midwest farm girl herself, so she knew. But, farmers cannot survive with the niceties of theoretical knowledge. Reality on the farm is very Darwinian, if it doesn’t work you will not survive no matter how high your intent.

Faith and Tradition- Yes, farmers tend to be very traditional. If you want to see people with pink hair and the latest fashion you go to the big city. Farmers tend to stick to the tried and true.  There is not a margin for trying the latest fads. You tend to stick to what has worked for you. You keep pushing for improvement, but you can’t get too crazy because you have to survive too.

There is not a lot of margin for luxury on the farm.

I also suspect the percentage of people who go to church on a regular basis is higher in farm country than in the cities. I think it goes with the job. That sense of humility I mentioned earlier makes you realize we there is something out there big than we are. With that humility comes some gratitude. And, if you didn’t have faith you wouldn’t have a prayer on the farm.

            I think I have only scratched the proverbial surface. These are some of the common dimensions of culture in agriculture. I think most farmers in most places would recognize these values. Yes, I know that many of these are good city folk values too. But, there is a culture that is distinct to agriculture.

Oh, there is one more characteristic of agri-culture. Pride- I am proud of what I do growing food and fiber for a hungry world. There is deep satisfaction bringing in the crop. Farming takes everything you’ve got-heart, body and soul. So there is a deep sense of pride when it all comes together, knowing you have done something important.

            I don’t think there is one agri-culture. But, I think farmers all around the world would recognize these dimensions of the world we live and work in. These form that “integrated pattern” that makes up the culture of agri-culture.

Why I Support the CA Water 4All Initiative

It is Bee-utiful out there-

I got back out to the orchard this afternoon and you could hear the bees buzzing in the trees to make some almonds for you and me. The weather man is on our side. The forecast is clear for a while.

We also got started planting onions today. Busy, busy, busy. Spring is in the air.

There is little controversy about this Fall's ballot initiative on water. Not a big surprise. If you have three farmers you are going to have five different opinions. I have the greatest respect to some who disagree, but here are the simple facts. We have 150% normal rainfall in our area and 0% water for our farms. We passed a water bond two years ago and we do not have one drop of new water. IN fact, the governor and the president have been squandering that money on things like watershed management. Don't get me wrong, watershed management is important, but they are more interested in blowing the money there than creating permanent solutions. This foolishness will not change until we change the rules. The Water Priorities Constitutional Amendment and Bond Act will give We the People a chance to change the rules in favor of common sense. And, polling shows we have the general public's support in this. The iron is hot, it is time to strike.

Why I Support Water 4 All

By Paul H. Betancourt

February 2016

            Growing up in San Diego in the 70’s I didn’t worry about water. I was just a kid. When I turned on the tap, water came out. After college I came up to farm and landed deep in the middle of the water wars. The 1986-93 drought is etched deeply in my mind. We have never had water to waste on the farm.

Water 4 All

            This Fall we get to vote on a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment that is basic common sense reform. One of the principles of my book “Ten Reasons: Finding Balance on Environmental Issues” is that we need a healthy environment and a healthy economy. Right now we have neither. Fish populations are still in peril in spite of the years of effort and gazillions of gallons of water. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and farmers have lost their land. This is not good.

            The water situation will not get better until we change the rules. We are talking about a change to California’s Constitution. This will not fix our federal problems, but this year the people of California have a chance to literally take the law in to their own hands.

            There are three principles in CA Water4 All-

            First- we prioritize water use in California. Domestic use first, then water for our farms.

            Second-we take $8 billion of bond money from high speed rail and put it to water storage. Recent polling shows 53% of California voters support this idea.

            Third- we make water policy more representative of the people of California. The measure creates a Water Management authority with leadership drawn from all over the state. That will sure beat having Sacramento decide for the rest of us, won’t it?

I Love Trains-

            My family still lives in San Diego. For over a decade we have taken the train to visit them instead of driving. I would love it to be a three hour trip instead of an eight hour ride. But- and this is a big but- everywhere we have seen the bullet train the ticket price has been sky high-literally. Sheryl took the bullet train in Japan and it was the same price as an airline ticket. Why not just take the plane? When I ask high speed train supporters this question they say it is more convenient. So, the taxpayers should pay $68 billion dollars to make things more convenient for a handful of people?

They Have Gone Too Far

            After years of telling us to put buckets in our showers to save water and to not water our lawns so we could save every drop of water in January 2016 they let TWO MILLION ACRE FEET of flush out to sea!!

            We have a population of 39 million people and a water system built for 19 million. Something’s gotta give. You cannot fill the tub if you don’t plug the drain!!! By next summer they are going to be on us again with less water, more restrictions and higher water bills. Enough is enough.

            If climate change really is the issue the enviros should be leading the charge to build more water storage. Their own projections show there will be less snow and more rainfall. In that case we should be building storage to catch the rainfall because we won’t be able to count on the snow slowly melting over a long period of time. It is going to be all at once.

For Ten Cents on the Dollar I Can Help All Californians`

            Like I said, I love trains. But, a $68 billion dollar Choo Choo will only help a handful of people who can afford expensive tickets. For 1/10^th the price I can help every Californian for a generation to come. For $6 Billion, which is a lot of money, we can build more storage and raise the levels on existing reservoirs.

            Current estimates price the

                        Sites Reservoir at $2.3-3.2Billion

                        Temperence Flats at $2.5-3.35Billion

                        Raising Shasta at $1.1Billion

                        Raising San Luis at $360Million

That’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot cheaper than a choo choo for the few. Those projects will benefit every Californian for decades to come.

            I’m just a dirt farmer, but this seems like a better use of taxpayers money than a Choo Choo. People win. Farmers win. the environment wins.

Why Do I Support Water 4ALL?

            That’s easy. They have shown what they will do when it does rain-they will flush it back out to the ocean. We need that water for our cities and farms.

            I would like you to think about something. Next summer when they are telling us to save a drop here and there, when they are telling you not to water your lawn and when you higher water bills come in- ask yourself one question-wouldn’t we all be better off if we had another two million acre feet of water in our reservoirs? You can’t fill the tub if we don’t plug the drain!

So, what can you do? Sign the petition to get this on the ballot and find a friend to sign the petition.

See y'all next week.

P