Monthly Archives: June 2012

Farm Bureau Event

It wasn’t quite what we envisioned, but “Where Does Your Pizza Come From?” event was lots of fun!  The last-minute rain sent us inside, but we ground wheat into flour, “made” pizza sauce, milked goats and learned about making cheese, pet chickens and a calf, planted seeds, learned about farm safety, and ate pizza!  Early’s Tractor in Cameron donated a remote control tractor and a barn set which were given away as prizes, and despite being literally blown away by it all, we had a lot of fun!

Here are the pictures from the event, as well as the questions from the game.  Do you know the answers?

1.) How many people does one farmer feed?

Farm Bureau event

2. What two states grow the most green peppers?

Farm Bureau event

3.) How long does it take a tomato plant to produce mature fruit?

Farm Bureau event

4.) How many states have cattle farms or ranches?

Farm Bureau event

5.) What is meat from a hog called?

Farm Bureau event

6.) What two kinds of wheat are usually used in pizza crust?

Farm Bureau event

7.) Beef is a great source of what three nutrients?

Farm Bureau event

8.) As a nation, how many acres of pizza does America consume in one day?

Stumped?  Here are the answers! 1.) One farmer feeds 155 people. 2.) California and Florida grow the most green peppers. 3.) It takes a tomato plant 75-85 days to become a mature plant. 4.) All 50 states produce beef. 5.) Meat from a hog (or pig) is called pork. 6.) Hard red spring wheat and Hard red winter wheat are primarily used in pizza crusts. 7.) Beef is a great source of “zip”– zinc, iron, and protein.  8.) Americans eat 100 acres of pizza each day!

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Make the Best of it!

I’m sure many of you have noticed it’s raining!  (Although the weatherman seems not to have noticed, so if you had no clue you are not alone!)  We ARE going ahead with our event– hopefully most of the rain will have passed us over by this afternoon and we can still enjoy the activities we had planned.  We’re planning to make the best of it!

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See You Tomorrow!

The weather has been great the last two days, but just in case you wondering, we are planning to see everyone tomorrow, June 23rd from 11:00-3:00! Wear your comfy shoes, clothes that can get dirty, and grab a water bottle– it may get warmer! See you there!

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Whole Wheat

It’s almost here!  This Saturday is our wheat harvest day– Where Does Your Pizza Come From?  I’m excited to announce some additions to our event.  Most importantly, free pizza will be served!  You may thank the Quad County Cattleman’s Association for their donation for beef pizzas, as well as Casey’s for a nice discount.  There will also be a raffle with several prizes, including a Case IH toy tractor!  Entry for the raffle will be a card to be filled out at each of the stations.  When a card shows you have been to each area it may be placed in the drawing– good luck!

Don’t forget to check in here for weather information!

To get you primed and ready for this weekend, here is a lesson on whole wheat!

A whole grain is just what it sounds like– all of the grain.  It can be a grain of wheat, oats, barley, or any cereal plant, but to call it whole grain means you do not remove part of the grain before you crack, roll, grind or eat it.

whole wheatA grain of whole wheat is similar to an egg.  It has a husk for a carton, bran for an eggshell, endosperm for egg whites, and germ for the yolk.  The husk must be removed, but the rest of the grain is important!  The bran (eggshell) has lots of fiber and makes you feel full!  Germ (yolk )has fiber and minerals, but is also full of complex carbs, protein, and essential fatty acids, and is an excellent source of vitamins B and E.  Endosperm (whites) is mostly carbs.  White flour is made of only endosperm.  This helps it last longer in your cabinet, but takes away the most healthy parts of the grain !  The great thing about keeping all of the grain is that when mixed with the endosperm, the germ and bran work with it to make a slow burning complex carb– very healthy!

The best way to enjoy it is to grind the whole wheat flour yourself!  Even flour labled “whole wheat” at the store can be missing some of the bran and most of the germ.  The bran and germ cause the flour to go bad sitting on the store shelf, so it sells better without them.  On our farm we use a mill and simply turn the knob any time we want fresh, whole wheat flour.  Watch and see!

To make bread from this freshly ground whole wheat flour go to Breadclass.com for the book, No More Bricks.

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Where Does Your Pizza Come From?

where does your pizza come from

Have you ever wondered where the ingredients in your pizza come from?  Well here’s your chance to find out!  You are invited to spend a day on our family farm as we harvest our wheat crop!  DeKalb County Farm Bureau is hosting this event where you will be able to grind wheat into flour, milk a goat, ride in the combine, pet barnyard animals and just get dirty!

The event will be held June 23rd from 11:00-3:00.  Click our Field Trip page to learn more!

See you soon!

 

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Farm Living

Picking Cherries

What do you suppose farmers do when the planting is finished?  What keeps them busy when they aren’t harvesting?

Every farm is different, of course, but there is enough to do on every farm to keep a person hopping from sun up to sun down!  This picture shows our family working on an “off day” on our farm.  Having lots of wide open spaces means there is room for more than just soybeans, corn, and wheat.  We also enjoy the cherry tree– and picking those high up cherries farmers style!  Have you ever picked cherries?  They are in season now in grocery stores.  Try a bag and imagine picking each one!

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