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All Good Things Must Come to an End

All within one event, several chapters came to an end this past Friday, March 16th:

  • A breakfast series, called “Friends of Agriculture”, sponsored by the University of DE Cooperative Extension. For several years, anyone from the community could come “listen and learn” to ag oriented speakers at early morning breakfast meetings. Previous speakers have been Governor Jack Markell, Senator Tom Carper, and the most recent presenter: DE Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Ed Kee. The title of the presentation was, “Brazil’s Ag-to the Horizon”. The Secretary toured the country with 18 Delaware farmers to experience Brazilian agriculture first hand. The take-away? Brazilian farmers are good at what they do; ranking 5th in the world in grain production. However, they are grappling with transportation, preservation, and regulatory pressures. Much more so than American farmers. The Secretary concluded with this statement: “The Delaware and American Family Farm System is the world’s best ag system and we will continue to compete and thrive!”
  • The moderator for the series: Dr. Jan Seitz. She is the Director of Cooperative Extension and is retiring as of next month. She promises to remain a Delawarean in retirement and from what I understand, she has initiated a scholarship fund with the DE Community Foundation for in state students. She’s a strong advocate for Delaware agriculture, extension, and 4-Her’s!
  • The main supporter of the series: Dean Robin Morgan. She is the current head of the University of Delaware College of Agriculture & Natural Resources but also is retiring at the end of this academic year (May or June?). Her replacement has not been selected or announced as of yet but I’m guessing the announcement will come soon.

All of these good things are coming to an end. The continuation of the breakfast series will be up to the new Dean but perhaps it is time to revamp the series? I hope to broach the topic with some of the boards I serve on. Youth involvement or some sponsorships could make it happen.  Let me know if you have any ideas: cvanderwende@hotmail.com.

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Where Did Winter Go?

I was supposed to rest this winter. So much for that. I’ve been going non-stop in my spare time and much has been for ag related purposes. So much, in fact, that I didn’t blog the entire month of February. Right after the annual DE Ag Industry dinner, I began an 8 week class called Annie’s Project, on Wednesday nights. The first weekend of February I attended my 2nd conference for Common Ground in Charleston, South Carolina…and here it is March already and my family is back in the greenhouse.

To catch up for lost time, here’s a recap of national and state ag related news or events I’ve been following this winter:

  • First woman elected Chair of the United Soybean Board:Meet Vanessa Kummer
  • DE Public Archives released an Agriculture Photo Collection from Delaware in the 1920’s and 1930’s (I loved seeing many of the old farm practices captured in these pictures as well as some 4-H events!)
  • UD names new head of Cooperative Extension: Meet Ms. Michelle Rodgers (her start date is April 2nd!)
  • USDA closes 259 offices, including consolidation of 131 FSA offices (this link is the latest article from March 3)
  • Bill Gates Endorses Ag Research  (or watch  this Bill Gates video, supporting genetically modified food research) Our industry could use his voice more! I’m so glad he spoke up!
  • Annie’s Project Convenes (more to come on this 8 week agribusiness course for women) I graduate tomorrow night!
  • Common Ground launches new website: www.findourcommonground.com (more to come on this, too, but this website is an awesome resource to answer popular consumer questions) Take a few minutes to check it out!
  • Regional Women in Ag Conference was February 9-10, 2012 (I couldn’t find any media on this and I didn’t make it this year because of my full-time work but heard it went well!)
  • DE Farm Service Agency (FSA) Director named: Meet Mr. Bob Walls
  • National Ag Week & Agricultural Safety Awareness Week was March 4-10, 2012 (sponsored by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety because it is one of the most hazardous industries)
  • National Ag Day was March 8, 2012 (sponsored by the Agriculture Council of America)

This is a quick list, but as you can see, there’s been no shortage of agriculture news and events this winter. With the early arrival of mild weather, it looks like there will be no rest for the weary in between seasons.  By the way, the first day of spring is next Tuesday, March 20. Just where did winter go?