MORE THAN THREE REASONS TO BE A TEACHER

When I graduated from college, my roommate gave me a present. With my degree in Education, student teaching behind me, and a job secured to start in the fall—I opened the gift to find a coffee mug, with ‘3 Reasons to be a Teacher….June, July and August!’

As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week  (this week May 6-10) and National Teacher’s Day (today, May 7), I wonder if those are the three reasons resonate with the 172,000 teachers instructing the over 2.3 million students across the state.

It is kind of a rough time to be a teacher in Illinois right now. With the current state funding crisis, where in March 2013, the State was behind in payments to local districts to the tune of $768 million, combined with the pension funding crisis currently being debated along with the upcoming transition from Illinois Learning Standards to the new Common Core Standards for Language and Math, you have to wonder, are the three months in the summer worth it?

As a former teacher, I don’t know teachers that take off 3 whole months. In addition to the opportunity for summer jobs, professional development (like our own Ag in the Classroom Summer Ag Institutes), and preparing for the next school year…it isn’t a vacation!

Shortly after graduation, my roommate and I were involved in a discussion about his company and what was the acceptable recall rate, or unsatisfactory rate, that his company would tolerate. It was acceptable to the company that only 70 percent of the product he delivered would be at 100 percent. There were tradeoffs in efficiency and dependability. Yet as a teacher, I didn’t have the luxury of ‘discarding’ any of my product. My product wasn’t a ‘widget’—I was working with students.

This became even more apparent, as I became a parent. Although every parent is their child’s first teacher, when you send those kids off to school, you want and expect your kids to be of primary importance to the teacher. Your local and state taxes fund this form of education, and you deserve it!

Ironically, I now have 3 children, and my oldest will graduate from high school in just a couple weeks. I am grateful for the teachers that have had such an impact on all of my kids. The three reasons I continue to encourage folks to be teachers, and to constantly hone their craft, are my kids–Lena, Eliza and Parker.

The three reasons on the coffee mug have certainly changed. Take a minute today, or this week, and think back about the teachers that played a major role in your life. Think about the teachers that impact your children today or have impacted your children in the past. Take a minute and thank those teachers… you will be glad you did!

Kevin Daugherty
Education Director
Illinois Ag in the Classroom

CALL IT OLD AGE OR CALL IT EXPERIENCE, BUT …

America’s Farmers Are Getting Old!

The American farmer has age and experience on their side, but with nearly half of the farming demographic reaching retirement age in the next 10 years, what comes next?

It seems more common than not to see farmers working well into older age with no regard for retiring or slowing down any time soon. That mentality of hard work and never giving up is what built this great agricultural nation, but it may also be the downfall of the American farmer in the decades to come.

Statistics from the 2007 Census of Agriculture conducted by the United State Department of Agriculture show that the number of principle farm operators over the age of 65 increased by 18 percent and principle operators under the age of 45 decreased by 21 percent. The latest Census of Agriculture shows that farmers in the U.S. are working well past retirement and aren’t getting any younger with the gap between the number younger farmers and farmers over the age of 65 increasing.

Could this be because the younger generation has left the farm to pursue more economic opportunity elsewhere? Or is the younger generation already on the farm, but Grandpa is not ready to turn over the reins yet? Whatever the answer may be I do believe it is time for the younger generation to start getting more involved on the farm if they have not already. Because in the next 50 years the world’s farmers are going to need to feed more people than they ever have fed before on less land because of urban development.

Farming has traditionally been a family legacy with farm land being passed down from generation to generation. Another point to be made is that the younger generation has always been there waiting to take over the farm, and there may just not be enough younger people for all of the retiring farmers. There is a huge gap in the population of farmers and it can be mainly attributed to the lack of people to fill the spots of the graying baby boomers.

One way to fill the void is to invigorate the younger generation to come back to the farm, and this responsibility should not lie solely on the shoulders of the farmers. Everyone needs to “Agvoate”, or advocate for agriculture if you will, to spread a better word about the agriculture industry and to encourage America’s youth to pursue ag.

This is not a dilemma that can be identified now and be addressed in the decades to come; farmers and agriculture as a whole are running out of time. There far more answers to the lack of young farmers than I presented, but something needs to be done because sooner or later there will be a shortage of farmers to go along with a global shortage of food. Are you going to sit on the sideline saying this does not affect you, or will you search for tangible solutions to these problems? Because like it or not, this is everyone’s problem!

Steven Beisswenger
Illinois State University student

FINALLY PLANTING!

Franklin, IL farmer Bill Long sent us these pictures of his planter FINALLY running in the field.

Corn planting is behind schedule this year, though we won’t really consider it late until after May 15 and crop insurance doesn’t really consider it late until after the first week of June.

In this area, corn planters are out, planting a field or two to make sure the equipment is running smoothly, but not really moving too much due to the predicted rains and colder weather coming in the next week.

In retrospect, one of our last really successful years was 2009 when planting was also significantly delayed.  We still had a great crop, but the summer was mild and cool and the corn wasn’t trying to pollinate in extreme temperatures.  If mother nature can keep this cool weather up through the summer, delayed planting won’t really effect the corn crop TOO much.  Of course, delayed planting will cause delayed harvest which can be a whole other issue on its own!

WHEN YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO …

It’s the constant “get to know you” question.

Depending on the circumstances of the meeting, it might follow “Which kids are yours?” or “How long have you gone to church here?” or even “So, how do you know John?” if John has just introduced us.  But inevitably, the conversation arrives at “So what do you do?”  And that’s a question I love answering.

Because I honestly, legitimately love what I do.

It’s a sad fact of life that there are MANY who do not love what they do.  Some who are living the majority of their life in a cubical when they’d rather be outside; some that despise driving and are forced to drive hundreds of miles every week.  But for me, aside from the inevitable pain of waking up too early on a Monday morning, I actually enjoy going to work.

For starters, I enjoy writing.  I have a creative mind (which always seemed at odds to me with my animal science degree) and even my free time is spent crafting, sewing, crocheting, and writing.  Coming to work every day and writing is second nature for me.

Secondly, I love the people I work with.  Yes, every group of people has its problems, whether it’s the local softball team you play on or the small group at church.  Our office is no different.  But at the end of the day, I actually find myself wanting to spend time with the people in my office AFTER WORK.  I like them that much.  And I’m no fool; I realize that this is a rarity.

But mostly, I just love farmers.  I love agriculture.  I love the feeling of being a small part of the fact that people all over the world are eating because of our industry.  I love the idea that this industry actually creates something from nothing using only the soil and water and air.  Think about it … you plant one kernel of corn, and through some miracle, you get hundreds.  It’s a little bit like experiencing all the miracles of having a baby every single year without the morning sickness or the swollen ankles.

The farmers that I work for are good people.  Honest people who believe in work ethic and treating people right and preserving their heritage.  They appreciate old farm houses and they work in the barn that their great grandfather built.  They wear dirt and oil and grease with pride because they understand the value of blood, sweat and tears.

They stop in at our office just to say hello (and we’re actually happy to see them!)  They bring their granddaughters and grandsons along because they decided on an impromptu lunch date with the next generation.  They leave here with said grandchild on their lap, letting them steer the vehicle out of the parking lot before strapping them into the carseat behind.

Our farmers get stressed, but they are faithful people and they all understand that God has their back and that they WILL live to farm another day.  And when it’s stressful in the office, it’s usually because we realize that 99 percent of our job is to deliver for them and make sure that they DO live to farm another day.

They toil and sweat and work and stress over each little plant.  Over the water and whether there’s enough or too much and are they keeping it clean?  Over the soil and their farming methods and are they doing the best they can so that their kids can farm?  Over new technologies that are hard to understand but are in the best interests of the future generation.  So they toil and sweat and work and stress some more.

In the fall, they pray for bounty.  For the fruits of their labor.  They yearn for the smell of harvest, for a glass of iced tea in a mason jar, for retired farmers who stop by in a pickup truck to watch and chat and relive the miracle again and again every year.

Who doesn’t want to be a part of this miracle?  The miracle of life and nature, of bonding with the earth and the next generation, of knowing where true value in this life lives.

I love farmers.  I love this industry.  I love my job.  And I’m grateful.

Lindsay Mitchell
ICGA/ICMB Project Coordinator

SERVING OUR FAMILIES WITH SAFETY

Author Grace Speare advised “the more we give of anything, the more we shall get back.” In rural communities, helping others is a lifestyle and not a single act. This mindset is especially evident in a crisis situation. Farming is the nation’s most dangerous industry.  Nationwide, over 100 children die yearly in farm related incidents.  With planting season approaching, tractors and farmers will be out in full swing. Now is the time to consider safety for yourself and your family. Learning what resources are available is an great to start.

Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, IL developed the Center of Rural Health and Farm Safety in 1991. The center holds one key objective:  provide education to farmers and their families to prevent injuries and save lives. Amy Rademaker, Rural Health and Farm Safety Specialist at Carle Hospital, aims to increase healthcare knowledge in rural populations. Through school programs and community outreach, Amy teaches thousands of people yearly.

As a previous intern for Amy and the Center of Rural Health and Farm Safety, I helped with a Progressive Agriculture Safety Day at Gifford Elementary School teaching third, fourth, and fifth grade students about hidden hazards. According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, the leading sources of fatal injuries are caused by machinery, motor vehicles and drowning. My purpose was to hone in on injuries potentially caused by machinery. I taught children about pinch points and emphasized the importance of familiarizing oneself with equipment. I simulated an accident by running a hotdog on a stick through a mock gear system. Seeing the marred hotdog disturbed the children. The purpose of reaching out to rural children is to impress the importance of safe and healthy behavior and prevent fatal accidents.

Teaching the future agriculture leaders about prevention and proper response in a crisis will save lives. Farm Safety for Just Kids, a non-profit organization, strives to achieve this goal. They serve millions of rural families yearly across the nation through outreach coordinators and local chapters. They want to protect the next generation of farmers by presenting research based health and safety facts.

Helping others is one of the greatest gifts we can give. With generational farming being the norm in most communities, it is vital that we teach safety practices to our future farmers. When we serve our families safe methods, we give them a lifetime of healthy practices. In the end, we sow a safer, brighter future for our families.

How do you practice safety with your family? Add a comment below to share with us. How you teach health behaviors could be the answer another family is looking for.

Ava Carmien
Champaign County

GROWING A CORN CROP

There’s so much more to growing a corn crop than you might think. Significant financial investment, for one, including millions of dollars for seed, fertilizer, equipment, storage, and more. And when factors (like the flooding we’re getting here in Illinois) create less than optimum growing conditions, farmers start kissing a portion of their already small margins good bye.

CELEBRATE PETS!

We’ve been talking a lot about pets here on CornCorps this month because it’s National Pet Month! Celebrate by brushing up on your Pet First Aid knowledge, and then tickle your funny bone with this cute video about the joys of cat ownership!