Planting seeds of truth

I have just completed my second “virtual” speaking engagement of 2020. It is not something I really want to be a part of, but I reckon it will have to do for now.

For me, it is all about the interaction with folks but, hey, when you can’t be there, the next best thing is sitting in your office chatting away with college students at the Kansas State University Block & Bridle club.

As President Justin Slabaugh introduced me and said, “Trent take it away…” I realized my real role here was to be motivational, not present the gloom and doom of today’s farming woes.

There is plenty to be concerned about because in the next couple of weeks we will have national negativity like never before. But honestly is anybody talking about the silver lining in a vast storm? I don’t think so.

So here are a few of the positive highlights I reminded our next generation of agricultural leaders about via Zoom. I see this as a really huge silver lining. Never in my life do I remember citizens of states who recognize that local leadership really matters. The Constitution of the United States clearly lays out that order of power follows the county, the state then the federal government. If you have not recognized that spending by your county commissioners and school board affects you more than who occupies the White House, you have not been “paying” attention.

Secondly, along those lines, I see where people understand how important your governor is now like never before. It matters who we have in these local offices and the silver lining of the storm is that I think a massive number of citizens of the state fully grasp that now. It is vitally important to farm and ranch families because, for the most part, it is our tax tolls that fund all the above mentioned. Yes, the first step to fixing a problem is recognizing the problem. I think this is very positive.

Next we see without question the respect farmers are garnering today at a new level. If we do not seize this opportunity, it is our own fault. With limited supplies of a variety of things we suddenly are taken for granted less. I am not only talking about toilet paper—and lets not forget it is a farm product—but even milk, meat and eggs. If you don’t believe me, call your local butcher shop and see when the next slot is available for getting a hog or steer butchered.

As much as I can share science about the cyclical nature of weather, the horse is out the barn in terms of fears about climate change. The answer to carbon neutrality is, and actually always has been, in the hands of the farmer. We must embrace the fact that climate does continually change and here is what we do as land managers to compensate for the variability. Here is our golden opportunity to clearly explain that the food animals we manage are all about upcycling and turning useless resources like grass into something that improves human lives with nutrient dense food.

You see at the end of the day one thing is vastly clear to see. The world, not only the weather, is cyclical. Things that are new today, in most cases, in some versions have been implemented before. Most folks don’t realize this. Most people don’t realize just how much improvement is made with turning off the cycle of life.

So you see the farmer, rancher, and resource manager are in the driver’s seat at this moment, not only when it comes to producing the essentials of life but also in providing people who reap their rewards with the daily stories about how we get it done. We yield results by planting seeds. I am suggesting that we need to plant the seeds of truth about the importance of the farmer with the everyday food consumer and get ready to harvest that bounty.

Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].