The Farmer's Daughter USA

Hi, I'm Amanda! My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm also a practicing attorney.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Work with Me
    • Speaking
    • Giveaways
    • Social Media Consulting
    • Sponsored and Guest Posts
  • About Me
    • Media
    • Terms of Use

The Best Compliment I’ve Received as an Agvocate

September 26, 2018

I love grocery shopping. I enjoy browsing the aisles to see what yummy options are available. I have fun choosing my meals for the week. I get excited about trying new flavors and discovering new indulgences. I appreciate the safe, nutrious, and unlimited options available.

But can you imagine going to the grocery store and actually being afraid?

Afraid that there are actually food options that are bad for your family. Afraid that you might purchase something that could hurt you or the people you love. Afraid that some of the items on the shelves are akin to poison. Afraid you’re going to choose wrong and suffer real consequences for it.

Unfortunately, in our world of rampant misinformation and disparaging campaigns such a reality exists for some people. It’s such a far cry from what I’m used to and what I know. I’ve never been afraid of food. I’ve never thought something was going to harm me. I grew up growing food with my family, so its never seemed like a dangerous thing.

Enter the biggest compliment I’ve ever received as an agvocate.

A woman sent me a message through my Facebook page a few years after I started this work. She was one of those people that felt afraid. She did the grocery shopping for herself and her family. She honestly thought she could walk into a grocery store in the United States and purchase food that was going to harm her family. She said the idea caused her anxiety and grief.

But then she started reading my material. She followed along on my social media accounts. She asked questions. She received answers. And little by little she realized there was nothing to be afraid of. She found she could trust farmers; trust that we’re trying to do right for ourselves, our families, the environment, and the consumer. She realized food can be a source of enjoyment, not worry.

Dang.

I started blogging over 6 years ago. I wanted a platform that would allow me to counter some of the rampant misinformation about agriculture. I wanted to explain policy to folks from a farmer’s perspective. I wanted to share our family farm and the pride we have in our crops. And I wanted to restore some of the eroded trust between farmers and the world’s eaters.

I never imagined my work as an agvocate could affect someone like that though. I’m obviously proud and humbled. Confidence in our food supply is something I’ve always just taken for granted. And it motivates me to continue, even when people say really awful things.

Not everyone is lucky enough to grow up as a farmer’s daughter. But I was. So I’ll use my talents to share my experiences and tell the amazing story of modern agriculture.

If nothing else, that one message made it all worth it.

signature
Share this:
«
»

Filed Under: Family Farms Tagged With: consumers, family farms, labeling, labels, promoting ag

Comments

  1. KEITH AYOOB says

    September 28, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    This post is like fresh air. Thank you for injecting some #commonsense into the ag conversation. People forget to trust farmers and I do wish they’d be more comfortable trusting “conventional” farmers and allow them to do what is right for their own land. Farmers actually DO know what they’re doing. Now, if people would just be careful not to waste the >30% of the food they buy…

  2. Dennis Laughton says

    October 1, 2018 at 1:32 am

    One never knows, when or where, that you may make a difference. If you don’t start for sure you never will.

Hi, I'm Amanda. My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm an attorney and I'm passionate about agriculture!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe via Email

Archives

Latest on Facebook

The Farmer's Daughter

1 day ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Fear-based marketing isn't ok, regardless of whether it comes from radical environmental groups or farmers.

... See MoreSee Less

Good products sell themselves; fear doesn't need to be an ingredient | AGDAILY

www.agdaily.com

Social media posts from direct-to-consumer beef producers show photos of their product purportedly next to store-bought beef and make nutrition claims.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

2 days ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Had to break for the snow earlier this week. But back at it and making progress.

... See MoreSee Less


Photo

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

4 days ago

The Farmer's Daughter

As many of you know, I'm passionate about the mission of Cultivate Food Rescue. Last year, because of the collaboration of volunteers and donors, Cultivate was able to fill 55,527 backpacks with weekend meals for school kids, and provide 1,623,018 meals to others in our communities. In doing so, it rescued thousands and thousands of pounds of perishable food. On this Giving Tuesday, please consider donating to Cultivate's mission.No neighbor hungry. No food wasted.

... See MoreSee Less

Donate

cultivatefoodrescue.com

Donate No Neighbor Hungry, No Food Wasted Donate Now Transform Lives Through the Gift of Giving Your contribution, whether big or small, has the power to uplift communities, catalyze progress, and cre...

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

5 days ago

The Farmer's Daughter

These commercials from Perdue were ALL OVER the TV this past holiday weekend. Did you see them?

... See MoreSee Less

Perdue Sells Alarmism Over Antibiotic Use - The Farmer's Daughter USA

thefarmersdaughterusa.com

Perdue is selling alarmism of its biggest competitor's use of antibiotics. So what's going on here?

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

1 week ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Happy Thanksgiving!I realized this morning that it's been 20 years since I performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. What a trip!I hope you and yours have a lovely day! 🦃

... See MoreSee Less


Photo

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

Latest on Instagram

thefarmersdaughterusa

Amanda | The Farmer's Daughter USA
I'm a proud farmer's daughter & advocate for modern agriculture. U.S. farmers are leaders in sustainability.

Amanda Zaluckyj
Just a reminder. #agriculture #usagriculture #far Just a reminder.

#agriculture #usagriculture #farmers #usfarmers #farming #farmfamilies #sustainableag #sustainableagriculture #sustainable #sustainability #farmerscare #homegrown #localagriculture #knowyourfarmer #shoplocal #madeintheusa #madeintheus #americanagriculture
Happy Thanksgiving! I realized this morning that Happy Thanksgiving!

I realized this morning that it's been 20 years since I performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. What a trip!

I hope you and yours have a lovely day! 🦃
Honestly, what is she even doing?? #Mischa #dogsl Honestly, what is she even doing??

#Mischa
#dogslife
She's got me. #dogslife #onlyfurbaby #naptime She's got me. 

#dogslife #onlyfurbaby #naptime
Some of you see this picture and appreciate the vi Some of you see this picture and appreciate the view. Our grain cart driver (mom) just sees that scary hill to drive up. 🫣

 #farming #sustainableag #agriculture #sustainableagriculture #farmers #sustainableagriculturepractices #sustainable #agriculturelife #agricultureeducation #farm #farmer #harvest23🌾
Happy Halloween! I dressed up as an attorney today Happy Halloween! I dressed up as an attorney today. 🤣

Oh, lawyer jokes. Listen, if you can't make fun or yourself and have a little fun, what are you even doing?
It's true. My puppy. 💜💜 It's true. My puppy. 💜💜
The first 25 acres of soybeans are done! But the b The first 25 acres of soybeans are done! But the beans still have very high moisture content. It's so high the granary won't accept them. So we'll have to dry them.

The big concern with soybeans is that the pods won't pop open. If that happens, they'll be discarded  out the back of the combine with the other plant material. Obviously not what we want to happen. After testing a bit, enough were opening that we felt like we should just get started.

Slow going, but at least it's going!

 #farming #sustainableag #agriculture #sustainableagriculture #farmers #sustainableagriculturepractices #sustainable #agriculturelife #agricultureeducation #farm #farmer #fearfree #cleanfood #foodsafety #dietfads #FactsNotFear #cleaneatingdiet #foodlabels #truth #cleaneating #Harvest2023
We're still not harvesting yet. Why not? Moisture We're still not harvesting yet. Why not? Moisture content.

We're currently about 4 weeks behind. But we can't start because our crops are still too wet. The moisture content is the amount of water in each kernel or soybean. If there's too much, they can spoil in storage. If it's really too high, then combine has a hard time handling it.

For corn, the sweet spot is about 15%. We have a dryer system on the farm that can help finish the kernels to the correct moisture level. But the dryer takes a lot of energy to run, so its cost prohibitive if the moisture content is too high. And if we try to sell the crop when it's too wet, we'll take a price hit at the grain elevator. So either the granary dries it, we dry it, or Mother Nature dries it. Right now, it's still too wet for after-harvest drying.

The other complication is that IT. JUST. KEEPS. RAINING. That doesn't help because the corn doesn't have a chance to dry out, and it maintains that moisture. We need some warm, dry days to speed up the process.

So, for now, we're still waiting...

#harvest23
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs