Trip to Minneapolis!

Today, I have for you a review of my trip to Minneapolis with Jeff about a week ago, but FIRST--

I understand some people have had issues getting my blog to "show up" on their RSS feeds, such as Feedly or BlogLovin'. I think I finally have the tech side of this figured out so you could find Prairie Sun Life on your blog feeds. Try copy/pasting this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePrairieSunLife   It seems to be working so far. If you continue to have trouble, please let me know! I don't want to miss anyone!

Now, on to the Minneapolis trip!

As I mentioned in my most recent Weekly Review post, Jeff and I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the National Farmers Union Convention. The Convention was held March 4-8 at the Radisson Blu- Mall of America hotel and convention center. We had a nice trip getting together with Farmers Union friends and colleagues. We also saw a lot of the Mall of America, and I had a chance to meet up with a blogging friend, Jessie. Read on for the details!

The convention was held at the Radisson Blu- MOA. This was a really nice hotel, and very modern in aesthetic. It was also attached to the Mall via skyway. It was a nice host site in that it was big enough and had many nice amenities. Personally, I would have actually preferred not to be attached to MOA and to have had more opportunity to be outside. The Mall of America "experience" wore off quickly. It is still just a mall...

My friend Tom lounges in one of these suspended pods they had in the lobby of the hotel. Very modern, indeed!

Anyway, the committee that I am on- Next Generation Advisory Council- presented our Strategic Plan to the NFU Board of Directors on Saturday morning. We have spent about a year working on this and had some really great suggestions for moving NFU forward with the "next generation" of farmers, ranchers, and consumers. Our ideas fell into three main themes: Membership, Leadership, and Mentorship. As a Council, we were all very pleased to see and experience positive reactions from the Board after our presentation.

I wore this necklace that I made for my presentation. Each tab has one of the brands that have been used on our family farm over time. I wanted a reminder to myself that it's not without respect to the past that we move forward.

I had a few other meetings throughout the weekend and enjoyed some of the keynote speakers and fundraising events before flying out on Monday. Jeff was elected as a Delegate to represent Montana Farmers Union, so he stayed on for the policy portion of the Convention. It sounds like there were a lot of differing opinions about policy and proposed changes. Ultimately, one thing I really love about Farmers Union on a State and National level is that we as members have the opportunity to argue policy and use a truly democratic process to build our position and give voice to the whole. I am really glad Jeff had the opportunity to serve as a Delegate and represent our State. I know he did a good job, even if I wasn't there to see it in person.

There were many speakers at Convention that addressed the gathering before policy began. I was sure to catch Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speak. I may break down some of what he spoke about in a separate post because there was a lot that is very relevant to Agriculture, obviously. I always enjoy hearing what Secretary Vilsack has to say and I appreciate the work he has done as our Secretary of Ag.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses the Convention.

A major highlight of the trip for me was simply gathering and getting together with some of our Farmers Union friends, from near and far. A group of us shared several meals and lots of free time together and it was just wonderful to be together. Several times I remarked that I hadn't laughed that much in a long, long time. To me, that's another aspect of what makes Farmers Union special- you become family with these people over time. I know that, even though some of my friends live in separate states, they will be there for me for years to come, and vice versa.

Two of our close friends, Bryan and Jennifer, are from Minnesota and took us out to some fun Minneapolis restaurants while we were there. One being Spoon and Stable, which was sort of a fine dining restaurant with innovative menu. We sampled a wide variety of dishes from their menu and shared them all among the table. My favorite out of everything was a dessert item called Honey and Cream Cake-- sooooooo good! Some of their menu can be pricey, but you could always go just for dessert and drinks if you're in the area. Make sure you call ahead for a reservation, though!

The other restaurant they took us to was a Thai restaurant called Sen Yai Sen Lek. This restaurant is part of the Minnesota Cooks: Food From The Farm collective. The Thai food was really good-- exactly what one wants from a Thai restaurant. We shared some spring rolls and each ordered our own lunch plates. I had a dish called Pad Bai Gra Prow with chicken. It was like a Thai spiced ground chicken with vegetables over rice, and the entire thing was topped with a fried egg. Soooooo delicious! This restaurant was also very affordable. I'd highly recommend it if you are in the Cities and hankering for some Thai! Plus, you know that anything from the Minnesota Cooks group is going to be really good farm to table food.

Another major highlight of the trip for me was meeting a fellow blogger- Jessie from The Right Fits. We have been following each others blogs for a long time, so it was really great to meet in person! Jessie is also a runner (she runs much more than I do!) and has a vizsla!! We met up for a walk near downtown Minneapolis, together with her dog Matilda the vizsla. It was so great to meet, get to know one another, get some exercise, get out of MOA, learn about and see Minneapolis from a local, and to see a beautiful Vizsla!!! Thanks, Jessie, for the meet up! You are the embodiment of "Minnesota Nice!" Readers, if you like reading about running, the Twin Cities, and/or Vizslas, definitely check out The Right Fits! Jessie does a really wonderful job!

Matilda, Jessie, and me over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis!
Thanks, Jessie, for sharing this photo with me!

While Harvey couldn't come to Minneapolis to meet Jessie and Matilda, he did send his love in the form of a gift. Harvey picked out a toy from his favorite made in Montana dog toy company- West Paw Designs. It's a grizzly bear. I delivered it to Matilda when I saw her. It looks like she likes it!

Matilda enjoys her new dog toy, from Harvey.
Photo credit to Jessie from The Right Fits. 

Well, it was a really great trip to Minneapolis and I hope to make it back there sometime soon. It's an easy city to fly to from Great Falls as we actually have a direct flight! I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about what we did on our trip. Have you ever traveled to the Twin Cities?

NFU Convention in Wichita, KS

Did you have to take U.S. Government when you were in high school? I distinctly remember struggling to sit through that class my senior year, interjecting the occasional eyeroll into my teacher's boring spiel about different branches of government or whatever the topic of the day may have been. I was probably thinking ahead to my next track meet, or what I would be doing with friends over the weekend. Anything but considering how our government operated. I didn't enjoy that class and I struggled to see how I fit in to the success of the American political system as a seventeen year old in Iowa. 

Now, I wish I could go back to high school government class and re-learn everything I've forgotten! Now, I'm witnessing how government and political process works first-hand. 

For about four days earlier this week, I was in Wichita, KS at the National Farmers Union Convention. I was representing Montana Farmers Union as a Delegate, elected at our own state convention last fall. If you want to read the speech I delivered at our State convention, you can read it HERE.   I gave the speech as sort of a wrap up to the experience Jeff and I had with the FUE program we participated in, but it had the unintended result of working as somewhat of a campaign speech that got me elected as a Delegate to the National convention. 

In fact, our chief lobbyist for Montana Farmers Union had approached my husband to ask if he would consider being a delegate. He declined, as the trip is always in the middle of calving, and said that I would probably be interested, which I was. So that's how I got my name in the ring. There were five of us who ran and we each stood up and told a bit about ourselves and why we thought we would be a good Delegate. Out of the five of us who ran, three of us were elected to attend National along with two of our MFU Board members, our State President, and a Youth Delegate. Our State Membership Director was also present for the trip. It was an awesome group! 

Group photo of the Montana Delegation, taken at the Evening for Education Gala.
Pretty good looking bunch!

I had attended the previous year's NFU Convention in Santa Fe as part of the FUE Leadership Training agenda, but it was completely different to attend as a Delegate. The main responsibility I held as a Delegate was to participate in the adoption of National Farmers Union Policy. The Montana Delegation as a whole, held the task of ensuring our state policies were concurrent with national policy and recommend changes if need be. We were able to stand up to the microphone and voice our own opinions as we saw fit, and also voted on key issues throughout the proceedings. 

Laura Ginsburg was a member of the Rules and Credentials Committee in addition to serving as a Delegate.

Several of our Montana Delegation approached the mike and stated a few words here and there, whether in favor or opposition of a particular change or section of policy. It was really cool to be part of democracy happening, and truly from a grassroots level. I also found that I really enjoyed utilizing Parliamentary Procedure, and observing how that works. 

My dear friend, Bryan Klabunde of Minnesota, takes to the mic to discuss issues pertaining to raw and unpasteurized milk.
Way to go, Bryan!

Another Montanan, Jake Fagan, and I also met with the Next Generation Advisory Council for the first time while in Whichita. We were both selected to be on this national committee that will advise the NFU board on how to attract new, young, and beginning farmers to Farmers Union, train them for leadership, and keep them involved, etc. It was the very first meeting of a brand new committee, so the first meeting was spent largely going over logistics. We are still refining exactly what we as a committee will do and we're even planning on changing the name of the group. Nevertheless, it was so exciting to be in a room of creative, passionate people who really have a thing for farming and working together! Totally inspiring. I can't wait for this group to continue moving forward. 

The biggest takeaway I had from this past week was simply that when focusing on what we all have in common, we can do great things. Bringing people together who are passionate about agriculture and Rural America is a good thing.  It was also simply wonderful to see some of the people who I have gotten to know through FUE and Farmers Union, who have become very dear friends, and also to get to know some new friends even better- Laura and Jake, for example. I literally have not laughed so much in a long, long time as I did while in Wichita, and that's due to spending quality time with some funny, amazing, intelligent people. I returned home feeling charged up and empowered to continue moving forward within this organization, and knowing that I have a strong network of friends throughout the country who feel the same way. 

NFU President Roger Johnson addresses the Delegation before proceedings began.
The other people are members of the National Policy Committee.
The Montana Delegation was seated in the front row, so this was my view for the entirety of policy debate! Awesome to be right in the action!!

When I got back to school on Wednesday afternoon, just in time for track practice, I was feeling excited about how the previous four days had gone but also very tired from travel. It also turned out that I would be the only coach available to coach about 20 high school kids at practice that day. I began practice by apologizing for having missed so many days of practice and explained where I had been. One kid asked me, incredulously, "You mean you were, like, doing government stuff?" And I replied by explaining that at the time, Government was not a class I enjoyed, but now I was sure glad I had that background because it gave me the framework to make this convention the success that it was. 

What can I say-- I'm kind of a big deal. ;)

Thankful Thursday (On a Friday) ~ Thanks Farmers!

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by today's Thankful Thursday post on my blog!

Yes, you read that right, and no, today is not Thursday. It is actually Friday today; I'm in delay for posting my weekly Thankful Thursday post. I spent the better portion of the last seven days away from home out of my normal routine while in Wichita, KS at the National Farmers Union Convention. I did arrive back home on Wednesday afternoon, but everyone knows the first day after returning from a trip is mostly a waste. Hence the delay in blog posts.

Anyway, let's get to the matter at hand, which is this week's Thankful Thursday topic.

Did you know that March is National Agriculture Appreciation Month? Wednesday, March 18 was National Agriculture Day, in fact! You probably saw little memes and posts on the internet and social media telling you to thank a farmer and appreciate the Ag lifestyle. I'm going to continue that theme today, and I'm going to build it around some of the comments that our Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, gave in his speech at the NFU Convention earlier this week.

Some of you probably already know that I am a huge fan of Secretary Vilsack. He's from Iowa, as am I, and was fairly popular as a Governor there before moving on to become Secretary of Ag. What I really like about him is that he is genuinely concerned with finding solutions that bring people together, and also in helping people. He also states things as he sees them and doesn't come off as a phony politician. This is a characteristic I can appreciate, especially in today's political climate.

US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses the National Farmers Union Convention.
Photo by Minnesota Farmers Union.

Secretary Vilsack offered many words of wisdom to the convention audience, but something he said early in his speech rang very true to me: "If you're not a farmer, you're delegating the responsibility of feeding your family to someone else." He went on to explain that this is a freedom and a liberty that we have in the US that many others worldwide do not enjoy. If you're not a farmer, you are counting on those of us who are farmers, fishers, and ranchers to provide sustenance for you and your family. That's a pretty big deal. If you eat, you depend on farmers. Secretary Vilsack also pointed out that in the United States, we spend about ten percent of our paycheck on food. In other countries, that percentage is much, much higher. Obviously, these are aggregate statistics and not the reality for every American household, but on the whole, to spend only 10% of our budget on food is really very good. We live in a great country and we have an outstanding agricultural system, filled with variety of producers, methods, and foodstuffs produced, and we should be thankful for that. We are lucky. 

Here's another reason to thank a farmer or rancher. American agriculture is a JOB CREATOR. Ag producers are directly influencing the economic growth rate in our nation and especially in rebuilding the rural economy. According to Secretary Vilsack's speech, the United States has seen sixty consecutive months of private sector job growth, which is an unprecedented stretch in our history. Can you think of any farmer who moved back home to a rural area in the past five years? I count myself in that demographic, in fact. Jeff and I are contributing to growing our rural economy, if for no other reason than simply existing and continuing to farm our land. I'm sure all of you can think of people who have taken up farming or gone back to farming in the past five years. Give them a pat on the back for helping with our nation's job growth!

The Secretary also spoke on some of my favorite USDA programs and intiatives, including SNAP benefits, the dietary guidelines, and many other topics. But, the line that stuck with me the most from his entire speech actually came about during the question period at the end. The general topic of conversation was about the diversity of agricultural styles and production methods in the US. Sometimes there is a tendency for ag producers to squabble with each other over who has the best methods, who is doing the most-right thing for the planet, who is feeding the most people, etc. Secretary Vilsack himself gave a line which, to me, was the overarching message of the entire convention: "Every minute we are fighting among our selves about agriculture is one minute we lose to advocate for agriculture to the public." Pretty big, right? In the end, we can and should all focus on what we have in common rather than how to hurt one another. What tools will help all of us. Leave your bias hats at the door and come to the table with ideas and solutions to work together.

There is a lot of negativity about agriculture in the media today. As we know, the media tends to focus on the negative instead of what we are doing right. Part of the mission of this blog is to continue to spread the positive messages of agriculture to my readers and hopefully beyond. If you are a farmer, thank another farmer for the work he or she does. If you're not a farmer, find one, and say thank you. Let's all say thank you and continue to work together to find ways to keep the American agricultural sector strong. 

Stay tuned to my blog for a few more posts pertaining to the NFU Convention over the next few days! :)

Registration is Open for MFU Women's Conference!

What do all of the following have in common?

• Cheesemaking
• Wine tasting
• Hot springs
• Yoga
• Photography
• Live Music
• Networking
• Goal setting
• Blogging
• Girl Time

These are all GUARANTEED  to happen at this year's Montana Farmers Union Women's Conference!

This is the third year of the Women's Conference and I am more excited about this one than ever! We have a really great agenda planned for everyone in attendance, beginning with the cheesemaking event on Friday evening, and it just keeps getting better through Sunday morning! There will also be a panel discussion about blogging and social media, which I was asked to participate on as a speaker. The conference is put on by Montana Farmers Union, of which I am a member, but I think we have a broad range of topics that could apply to anyone, whether they are in agriculture or not.  

I know several people who will be attending and/or helped in the planning of this conference, and it is going to be a blast! There are some seriously smart, dynamic, strong, beautiful, fun-loving, and funny women who will be there, and I'm also so, so excited to meet more people while there! 

Plus... HOT SPRINGS! Helllloooooooo! 

If you're interested in signing up, the cost for the ENTIRE WEEKEND is only $50! That includes lodging, meals, and conference seminars. And use of the hot springs. Once again... HOT SPRINGS, people! Are you sold yet? It's a smokin' deal, folks! 

You can register for the conference by clicking HERE!  The registration is, again, *only $50.00* and is going through active.com. But don't worry, it's not a boot camp or anything. Active.com just offered an easy platform to get registrations done completely online. There are only about ten rooms left, so sign up quickly if you're interested. If nothing else, you'll have a great time with some awesome, strong women! Hope to see some of you there!! Rural Women Rock, Ya'll!

Farmers Union Convention Speech

This morning, Jeff and I had the great honor of speaking at the annual Montana Farmers Union Convention. We spoke about the FUE Leadership Couples experience we partook in over the past eighteen months, culminating in the Legislative Fly-In this past September. Following is the written copy of my portion of the speech we presented to the gathering. 

Photo courtesy of Carol Bangs.

When I look around this room, I see smiling and welcoming faces of family and friends. I see a room full of farmers, representing Montana’s very diverse Agricultural system looking back at me. But I’m willing to bet that some of us in this room haven’t always been farmers. Personally, I fall into that category. Despite growing up in one of our nation’s top agriculture states, Iowa, and attending one of the best Agriculture Universities, Iowa State University, I knew almost nothing about farming. Even though both my parents grew up on farms, and I had memories of visiting the family farm when I was a very young kid, I had little appreciation for food source. Speaking of my college days, you could argue that during those four-and-a-half years, I was actively trying to avoid farm life, in all its various iterations.

So how did I get to where I am today? That’s what I’m going to speak about this morning. How I went from being a citified Midwesterner to an Agriculture Proud Montanan, and how friends, my husband, family, and Montana Farmers Union helped me along the way.

Even though I grew up in an Ag state, I was more or less a city-kid. I had little connection to family farms on either side of my family. My school contained no FFA or 4-H—I had never even heard of either of those programs until I went to college. The extent of my knowledge of food supply was that my family got food from the grocery store and occasionally the farmers market. In college, I studied Apparel Design and French. My majors had much more to do with an urban way of life, which was reinforced by my internship in New York City and study abroad in Lyon, France—both big cities. I thought my future would be in a metropolis somewhere. 

Later in my college years, I started dating a nice guy from rural Iowa. He had grown up on a sheep farm and had the life-goal of being a mixed-animal vet, living on a farm somewhere away from the city, and also tending a small livestock operation of some sort himself. We stayed together longer than we should have but when we eventually called it off for good, one of the main reasons was because I could not see myself living in the country. By this time, I had spent lots more time in cities. I thought I was a city girl. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with living rurally.

Those of you who know where I live now, should be laughing.

In terms of Agriculture, my life has taken a complete turnaround since my college days. I am now married to Jeff Bangs, and we farm and ranch in about as rural of a place you could imagine. We’re about a half-hour drive from the nearest town, and an hour from the nearest WalMart. (Why proximity to WalMart is a metric for rural living is another societal indication I’m not getting into today!) But I had to learn, over time, how to be OK with letting myself live in such a rural place.

I had decided early in my relationship to Jeff that if I was going to give this farming thing a go, I had better learn what the heck I was getting myself into. Over the years we dated, I visited the farm where I would eventually live many times. We talked at length about what life would be like for us together on the northern Montana prairie. On my visits, I participated in whatever farm-related task he was up to, as often as it was practical (and probably some times when it wasn’t practical—Sorry, Tom!). Jeff was always so very patient in explaining to me why they do the things they do on the farm. Tom and Carol, who are now my in-laws, have answered the same questions from me over and over and over, but always with grace and a smile.The more I learned about farming and the way the Bangs family farmed, and the more I grew to love Jeff, the easier it was to move from acceptance into appreciation of farm life for myself.

Through this family, I learned that farming is never easy. It’s seldom convenient. It’s often messy. Farming can be very dull, sometimes tedious, and always a lot of hard work. But farming is also self-directed. It is liberating, rewarding, and beautiful. Farming is a legacy, and most of all, it is essential. As farmers, we have the privilege of providing food for an expanding world, and we’re lucky enough to do this while also providing for our own families.

This leads me to one of the reasons why I have grown to find another home of sorts in Montana Farmers Union. 

Shortly after that, I heard about the very first ever Montana Farmers Union Women’s Conference. My in-laws had been active members of MFU for many years, so when the pamphlet for this conference came, Carol encouraged me to attend. I am so glad I did. I walked in the doors to the conference having no idea what to expect, but left feeling empowered and encouraged by the other attendees and by Delisa, who had run the show. These people were so warm and inviting, it felt like family already. I promptly signed Jeff and myself up for a two-year membership to MFU.

Shortly after that, Jeff and I received a phone call from MFU President Allan Merrill about something called FUE Leadership Couples. Wanting more information before committing Jeff and I to this year-and-a-half-long shindig, I had talked to Harley Danielson, who’s in charge of the FUE Leadership program (and there’s no saying No to Harley!)Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves undertaking this great FUE experience, which has only solidified our place among the Farmers Union community. 

You may have already noticed that this year’s FUE group is here, attending our Convention for their fall get-together. WE had the great pleasure of meeting and interacting with this group earlier this summer at our combined meeting in Bayfield, WI. They are certainly a memorable group and I encourage everyone to say hello to them, and of course to Harley and Irene.

Our FUE experience has been nothing short of outstanding. We learned so much about Farmers Union, about all three legs of the Triangle—Education, Cooperation, and Legislation. We traveled to some pretty outstanding places, including Bayfield, WI, Bozeman, MT, Santa Fe, NM… and Minot, ND. At each place we visited, we were able to take in some of the local culture and also gained a greater understanding of Agriculture in that area.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention specifically the capstone of the FUE experience, the DC Fly-In. We spent most of a week in Washington, learning about and lobbying for Farmers Union causes. One thing I will always remember about this trip is that almost every person we met in Washington who was involved with Farmers Union wanted to know who we were, where we were from, and what we did before proceeding on with business. They asked us these things and genuinely seemed to care about our responses. Whether it was Education Director Maria Miller or President Roger Johnson or anyone else we met, I felt that they wanted to know who we were, that they cared about us and were truly happy we were there. This to me truly embodies part of what the spirit of Farmers Union is about. 

I won’t forget the time we spent in Washington D.C.  It was this trip that culminated the training we had received, and truly opened our eyes to what we could do for this organization and how we fit into its future.

What truly made the entire FUE experience special was the people. We sometimes refer to our Farmers Union friends as feeling like family. I think Jeff and I agree that the other couples we met in our FUE group do feel like family in many ways. We have a lot in common with the other couples in our group and found right away that we can spend hours in deep discussion after a day of meetings and training. We know that even though we may not see these couples and their families often, we will always have a special connection, will always be a phonecall away to bounce ideas off one another.

Needless to say, we were hooked into Montana Farmers Union, and we’re happy with that. The more events we attend, the more we are affirmed that this is the organization for us, beginning with the first ever MFU Women’s Conference and now having completed the FUE experience. The people we have met through our experiences with MFU feel like family, and in some cases they are family.  I believe there is truly no greater organization advocating for the family farmer in Montana. Even someone who grew up with only a vague sense of Agriculture can come around to the bright side, through a little help from friends, family, and Farmers Union.