There's an App for THAT?!?

This morning while waiting for my statistics to run through the computer, I was browsing around on Twitter and came across a tweet about the BEEF Daily post by Amanda Radke, McDonald's Launches Consumer App for Food Source. (follow the link to read the article) As you can well imagine, this quickly caught my attention and my mind wandered off from my statistics. So what is the app about?? McDonalds in Australia has designed a mobile app, TrackMyMacca’s (Macca's is a nickname for McDonalds), that allows the consumer to see where their food is coming from. How cool is that?? You're first reaction might be, "Who cares where your food comes from, just eat it!". This was the exact response from one of my fellow grad students. Here is the significance: Agriculture is getting more and more removed from people's everyday life. Many people are unaware of all Agriculture does for us. I wouldn't have been able to put clothes on, brush my teeth, eat my biscuits that I had for breakfast, or drive to work this morning (just to name a few) without Agriculture. These are the things I can think of off the top of my head from the first 4 hours of my day! I saw a hashtag on Twitter last night that I LOVED - #nakedandhungrywithoutag. That is so very true and often forgotten! I think that this app will serve as a reminder to people that 1) the world needs Ag,  2) food doesn't miraculously appear at the grocery store...it takes a hard working individual, dedicated to putting food on the world's table, to grow that product (aka a farmer!).

See my point?? It's takes a lot of hard work from many farmers, from many different parts of the US to build a hamburger! Cool huh? 

I am curious, what are your thoughts on this topic and the new app? Do you think something like this will be released in the US soon?

My "one word" resolution...

Do you all remember my post about choosing a "word of the year"? I was inspired to do this when I saw on Instagram that a very talented lady, Lisa Leonard, had designed a necklace with this in mind. That every woman would choose one word to focus on throughout the year. I have never kept a New Years resolution so I loved the idea of simply choosing one word! Today I got this lovely package in the mail...



I love the way she has branded her work by incorporating the cute muslin bags and even adding a free calendar filled with inspirational themes for every month.



Here's the necklace...dainty enough it can be worn every day while still making a statement!

If this is the first time you have heard about Lisa Leonard Designs, head over to her website - http://lisaleonardonline.com.

Hope everyone is having a great week and staying warm - it's bitterly cold in some parts of the country right now!

It's calving time!

Since I was a youngster, my favorite time of year has always been calving time - when all the mama cows have their babies! Unfortunately, as I have gotten older and moved away from home, I miss out on the bulk of calving season. This year some of the first babies were born over Christmas so I got to see them! You might wonder what all the excitement is about. To me, calves being born is similar to opening a present. You breed the cows to a bull (daddy candidate) of your choice and have to wait 285(ish) days to see the baby! It's always a surprise. When choosing a bull to breed your cows to, you try to select one that will improve the genetics of your herd and how your cows look. When the calf is finally born, that's when you know how successful you were.
When calves are being born, you have to pay close attention. In our part of the country, we can have some pretty chilly nights during calving season so a lot of times we will put the cows that are getting ready to calve inside a barn. This is to make sure that if a calf is born, it can stay plenty warm and be able to dry off. Once a calf is born, you must weigh it (just like a human baby) and give it an identification number. We use ear tags to make sure we know what calf belongs to each cow and for record keeping purposes. If for some reason a calf would happen to get sick, this allows us to keep accurate records...just like you would use a child's name for keeping records at a doctors office.
Here are some pics that my Mom snapped this afternoon of my Dad and brother weighing and ear tagging a newborn calf...



My brother stepping on the scale with the baby calf...



Checking to see how much the baby weighs...



These are the baby's ear tags. The ear tags tell us some pretty important information. The large number is it's individual identification number (no other calf will have the same number!). The bottom number tells it the year it was born. The "FM" written on the tag tells us what bull the calf is out of (who its daddy is). You also see our farm name on the tag. This is so if the calf would happen to get out of the fence, people would know who it belonged to.



Here's the sweet baby with its new ear tags!

Nothing like starting out with a bang!

Today is week two of my FINAL semester of graduate school and man did it start out in full swing! I have been busy trying (keyword-those of you who have worked with the program SAS understand!) to run the statistics for my thesis research project, write, prepare presentations for a meeting in Orlando in February, and stay sane in the meantime!
In the midst of all the craziness, I still try to find time for a little fun, if nothing else to de-stress from all the previously mentioned activities! A fellow K-Stater moved to Mississippi to begin her graduate career this semester...I was thrilled to death! :) The more purple in MS the better right? This weekend I had the privilege of judging a county fair livestock show in NW MS and my KSU pal rode along...it was awfully nice to have a travel buddy!
I apologize if this post is a little mumbo jumbo...I'm writing on the campus shuttle coming back from visiting with the Intro to Animal Science class about a new club on campus. It's an agriculture advocacy club aimed at spreading the word about Ag. and teaching university students how to continue to be an advocate after they graduate. I'm pretty excited about it! I will have to write more about this at a later date!
Hope everyone has a great Monday!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Word of the Year

Confession: I've never been very good at New Years resolutions...if I do make a resolution, it might last for a week. Anyone else with me on this?? This year I decided to do something different, something I might actually stick to! I decided to pick a word for 2013 - that's right, ONE WORD. Sounds much simpler, right?? I've pondered over this word for a good 3 or 4 days now and have finally committed. (for awhile I thought my word might have to be commit!) I decided on BLESSED. In 2013 I will be making lots of traditions - defending my thesis, moving, starting a new job, etc. When I think about my life, I am really really blessed...sometimes it's easy for me to lose sight of that when things start going south or not according to "my" plan! BLESSED is to remind me to be thankful even on those "not so sunny" days. My Nanni is a very wise woman and says often, "There's always, always something to be thankful for".
Did you make a New Years resolution or pick a word to focus on in 2013? If so, leave it in the comment section below if you feel like sharing!
Cheers to 2013!



Some of the people I was really thankful for in 2012! There are many others but I couldn't find a collage big enough! Diptic problems??


P.S. I'd like to give a shout out to one of my faithful followers, Jackie Gibson! :)