Field Trip:  Virtual Wisconsin Farms 

Instead of visiting an actual place, I decided to do a visual tour of an area of Wisconsin through means of a show broadcasted through PBS.  The show is called "Around the Farm Table".  

  

I really enjoyed this show!  Each episode is about 25 minutes long and there are 21 episodes.  The host is named Inga Witscher.  She moved to Wisconsin to open an organic dairy farm.  That is when she discovered the abundance of local farming opportunities.  This show highlights some of those wonderful people and dives into understanding what it is they do.  My knowledge is more on the ranching side of things so I really enjoyed diving more into the farming aspect of this lifestyle.  I learned a lot from this show about supporting local efforts in farming.  It inspired me to do more research about local farming contributors right here in the Cache Valley.    

Throughout the show there were a lot of aspects of it that made the experience feel real to me.  Because of my experience in the ranching community I do feel as if I could determine whether something is staged or not.  I truly believe that the experiences in this show are authentic.  Sure it has some scripted bits but when it comes to the actual farming, I believe it felt as real as it could through my computer screen.  

At the end of each episode she would cook something using the ingredients she acquired from the various farms and businesses she visited.  I loved this!  I love to cook so I was happy to get some more ideas about things I could cook using ingredients I can find locally.  I will definitely be visiting our local farmers market this summer.  

  

Possibly the most frequent concept that was shown throughout this program was that farming and ranching has the power to bring a community together.  It has the power to let people share their talents and feel great about their contributions to their community.  Everywhere needs people who are willing and worthy to get their hands dirty for the benefit of others.  This show does a wonderful job of highlighting that.  I am so glad for this experience and I now have a new and wonderful understanding of the importance of local farming efforts.  The following is a commercial that was created to celebrate the farmer and to help people appreciate what they do.  It is wonderful and I think that everyone should watch it.  

So God Made a Farmer

Academic Review of "The Horse Whisperer"

The Horse Whisperer. Dir. Robert Redford. Perf. Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson. Touchstone Pictures, 1998.

Photograph courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horse_Whisperer_(film)

Plot Summary

            Early one winter’s morning, teenager Grace MacLean and her best friend Judith take their horses out for an early ride.  Throughout their ride, they come to a slope, which has become slippery in the icy conditions.  Judith’s horse Gulliver slips and falls into Grace’s horse Pilgrim.  The two pairs fall down the hill, coming to a stop on a road below.  A truck slides around a corner and collides with them.  Judith and Gulliver are killed, while Grace and Pilgrim are left badly injured.  After the accident, Grace is left with a partially amputated right leg and Pilgrim becomes unmanageable due to the trauma he experienced.  Unwilling to put him down, Grace’s mother Annie is convinced that the recovery of her daughter is directly linked to that of Pilgrim’s. 

Photograph courtesy of http://www.sky.com/tv/movie/the-horse-whisperer-1998

            Annie tracks down a man by the name of Tom Booker, also known as the “horse whisperer”.  He is a talented trainer with the gift to understand horses, and the people who ride them.  Tom agrees to help so Annie and Grace make the long journey from New York to a remote ranch in Montana.  Here Grace, Annie and Pilgrim are tested to their limits to come together to heal one another.  As time ensues, Tom helps this family overcome their horrific past and gain back trust towards each other as well having the courage to get back in the saddle.  During this healing process, Tom and Annie reach a mutual attraction, despite the fact that Annie is married.  She is then faced with a near impossible decision between the life she has and the life she wants.          

Analysis

            Coming into this project, the idea being analyzed is that Hollywood often portrays ranching and farming in a very stereotypical way.  Throughout this paper, it will be discussed whether or not The Horse Whisperer follows those same guidelines. 

            The important role that farmers and ranchers play in American’s every day lives is often times overlooked.  Film usually does not take the time to emphasize this fact, but instead dives into the idea that ranchers are perhaps lower than other people, socially and that they do not necessarily care about their land, animals, etc.  Or they focus on the more glamorous aspects of ranching, like rodeo.  This is where the Horse Whisperer differs. 

            When the characters based out of Montana are established, it is apparent that they have a deep connection with the land that they work.  It is centered on the Booker family and their cattle ranch.  This movie takes the unique approach towards showing what actually happens on a ranch.  Included is showing working in the mud, feeding in early hours and allowing a 9-year-old to drive the ranch truck.  Anybody who has lived the ranching life will agree that it is not easy, but it is possibly the most rewarding work any man can do.

            As well as correctly interpreting the work, this movie also accurately depicts the relationship between man and horse.  The bond between a rancher and their horse is like nothing else.  He is not just an animal, he is your constant and loyal companion.  When considering this delicate relationship, a man by the name of Buck Brannaman was brought in to oversee this representation.  It is about establishing a very intimate and trusting relationship with the animal and then striving to never violate that trust.

Photograph courtesy of Irinel Petreseu

“When it comes to the sequence for Pilgrim's accident, it is strictly the magic and illusion of filmmaking that will leave audiences thinking they have seen a harrowing crash. A representative of the American Humane Association (A.H.A.) was on the set every day that animals worked, both in New York and in Montana”. 

            The Horse Whisperer is an incredible landmark in filmmaking.  It explores all human emotion, while still managing to accurately interoperate what ranch life is really like.  From the family dynamic to the mud caked boots, this film does farmers justice, and plays an important role in bringing awareness to the importance that these families play in American society.  The Ohio State Extension highlighted a set of skills that an American farmer must posses.  "A farmer must possess skills in the following professions: welding, accounting, farm law, politician, wildlife officer, veterinarian, construction, finance, animal husbandry, corporate executive, marketing, entomologist, plant pathologist, good neighbor, plumber, electrician, research scientist and an eternal optimist, just to mention a few." 

            It is not very often when something produced in Hollywood does justice to how the working man lives.  The Horse Whisperer achieves this.  It not only shows how a rancher lives, but shows that there is great pride to be found in such work and that a man really can live and work simultaneously with this earth and her creatures.           

Citations

"The Horse Whisperer: About the Production." Film Scouts. Web.

"Avoid the Common Stereotypes of Farming." Ohio State Extension. Web.

The Horse Whisperer. Dir. Robert Redford. Perf. Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson. Touchstone Pictures, 1998.

Farm Legislature:  Feeding our Future

Background of the Farm Bills:

The farm bill of the United States is the primary agriculture and food policy tool of the federal government.  It is passed every five years and umbrellas anything to do with the United States Department of Agriculture.  These bills can be highly controversial, and can impact very specific aspects of peoples lives, including food safety, international trade, and the overall well-being of rural communities.  

The farm bill was first created during the Great Depression to give financial assistance farmers who suffered from an excess of crops creating low prices, as well as to control food supply at this time.  It was passed in 1933 as part of Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal.  

Nutrition for Today's Generation:

21.4% of the Farm Bill's mandatory spending distribution goes towards child nutrition.  My degree that I am working towards here at Utah State University is in Communication Disorders.  I will be working with children every single day, usually within a school setting.  It is a well know and researched fact that a child's nutrition stability directly affects their ability to learn.  The program illustrated at extension.org provides three ways nutrition influences a student's learning potential and performance in school.  They are as follows:

1.  Improve Nutrition to Increase Brain Function
"Several studies show that nutritional status can directly affect mental capacity among school-aged children.  For example, iron deficiency, even in early stages, can decrease dopamine transmission, thus negatively impacting cognition.  Deficiencies in other vitamins and mineral,s specifically thiamine, vitamin E, vitamin B, iodine, and zinc, are shown to inhibit cognitive abilities and mental concentration.  Additionally, amino acid and carbohydrate supplementation can improve perception, intuition, and reasoning.  There are also a number of studies showing that improvements in nutrient intake can influence the cognitive ability and intelligence levels of school-aged children."

2.  Provide a Balanced Diet for Better Behaviors and Learning Environments
"Good nutrition helps students show up at school prepared to learn.  Because improvements in nutrition make students healthier, students are likely to have fewer absences and attend class more frequently.  Studies show that malnutrition leads to behavior problems, and that sugar has a negative impact on child behavior.  However, these affects can be counteracted when children consume a balanced diet that includes protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, and fiber.  Thus students will have more time in class, and students will have fewer interruptions in learning over the course of the school year.  Additional, student' behavior may improve and cause fewer disruption in the classroom, creating a better learning environment for each student in the class."

3.  Promote Diet Quality for Positive School Outcomes
"Sociologists and economists have looked more closely at the impact of a student's diet and nutrition on academic and behavioral outcomes.  Researchers generally find that a higher quality diet is associated with better performance on exams, and that programs focused on increasing student's health also show modest improvements in students' academic test scores.  Other studies find that improving the quality of students' diets leads to students being on task more often, increases math test scores, possibly increases reading test scores, and increases attendance.  Additionally, eliminating the sale of soft drinks in vending machines in school and replacing them with other drinks had a positive effect on behavioral outcomes such as tardiness and disciplinary referrals."

Photograph courtesy of https://www.realbuzz.com/articles/healthy-eating-for-kids/

A child's nutrition has the power to greatly affect his or her academic experience.  Children deserve to have every opportunity presented to them and through federal government funding, proper nutrition can reach a greater number of our nation's children.

3 Ways Nutrition Influences Student Learning Potential and School Performance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://articles.extension.org/pages/68774/3-ways-nutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-performance  

Folklore:  Tall (and wooly) Tales

Photograph courtesy of Kate Greenaway 

According to Dartmoor Studios, one variation of sheep in ancient folklore goes as follows:

"Sheep, like goats, are associated with Christmas in folk tales told across northern Europe and the British Isles.  On Christmas eve, these tales report, all sheep face east, bow three times, and are gifted with the power of speech from the stroke of midnight until the rise of the sun.  This holy ritual cannot take place under the gaze of human beings, bur provided the sheep are unobserved and unaware, their conversations can be overheard.  In some accounts, the sheep sing hymns; in others, they foretell events of the year to come; and in some they gossip, praising or bemoaning the conditions in which they live.  A grumbling sheep, mind you, is a cause for worry, because sheep are especially beloved and protected by Mother Mary in the folklore tradition, and a black mark is lodged in the heavenly accounts against farmers or shepherds who treat them ill."

"The Royal Ram" Photograph courtesy of Adrienne Segur 

In ancient farming traditions, sheep were considered to be sacred animals.  Farmers believed that sheep were the ones who told heavenly hosts how their farmers treated them during their mortal life.  In turn, sheep were well taken care of and beloved in most societies.  

Going back to myths older than Christianity:  Duttur was the Sumerian pastoral goddess associated with ewes, milk, and arts of the dairy; she was the mother of Tammuz:  the shepherd God of rebirth, fertility and new growth in spring.  Likewise, the ram-headed Khnum in Egyptian myth was a God of rebirth and pastoral regeneration.  As one of the oldest of Egyptian deities, he also was the God of creation, forming human bodies in clay on a potter's wheel and placing them inside their mother's womb.  In Greek myth, Aristaios (son of Apollo and Cyrene) was the God of shepherds and beekeepers.  The island of Ceos was the center of his cult (though he is also associated with the founding of Thebes), where his followers practiced "weather magic" and were renown for their find herds and dairy skills.  

Sheep are related to rebirth and innocence.  Jesus Christ was called "The Lamb of God".  A perfect, first born lamb was presented to Him at His birth.  Sheep have been a symbol of purity and innocence since ancient times, even representing children today.  When a child dies, a lamb is often depicted on their grave.  

"Head of a Ewe" sculpted between 3500-3000 BC photograph courtesy of terriwindling.com

So whether it be today, or thousands of years ago, sheep have been symbols of farming culture and people's relationships and love for animals.  Their part in the history of agriculture is very prevalent and well documented.  Sheep are wonderful creatures that will continue to prove to be a useful aspect and loyal friend to mankind.  

Windling, T. (n.d.). Into the Woods The Folklore of Sheep. Retrieved from http://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2014/12/the-folklore-of-sheep.htm    

The Ancient Origin of Wool

Photograph courtesy of 

http://freshfarmhouse.tumblr.com/post/99987123631/burning-soul-rosie-the-lamb

"It is not about the pasture of the sheep, but about their wool."  - Pope Pius II

Wool dates back before the time of recorded history when man would clothe himself in the wool of the wild sheep he hunted.  The discovery of this new covering provided protection from all of the elements.  The cultivation of wool is depicted in ancient drawings on cave walls all around the world.  As man and his thinking evolved, he came to the realization that to kill each sheep for its meat was a waste of a very valuable resource.  

Cave drawing.  Photograph courtesy of http://www.iwto.org/wool/history-of-wool/

The only animal thought to be domesticated before the sheep is the dog, which assisted men in becoming shepherds.  Wool began to be spun and woven by hand in Northern Europe before 10,000 BC.  Soon a crude spindle came about by fitting a clay ring to the end of a wooden stick.  This was the standard method for thousands of years and is even still in practice in some communities today.  These people had soon developed two methods for manipulating wool; the the spindle for spinning and the loom for weaving.  Improvements continued to be made on these instruments until around 500 AD when the first spinning-wheel came about.  One turn of a spinning-wheel was the equivalent of twenty turns of a spindle.  This saved much time and effort and allowed the methods to become much more efficient.  

When the Romans invaded the British islands in 55 BC they found the woolen products, "so fine it was compared with a spider's web."  By the twelfth century, wool was Britain's greatest national asset.  The peak of the industry was during the thirteenth century but quickly declined after that due to political instability.  Political situations became better in the late fourteenth century and cloth from English looms achieved international reputations because of the quality of their raw wool products.  Britain continued to be the wool capital of the world for years to come.  

The Industrial Revolution of 1750-1850 caused a great disruption in the world of wool.  Manufacturing methods that had gone unchanged since the fourteenth were now becoming subject to change.  Riots challenged manufacturers and destroyed machinery but it was the machines that eventually won. 

Production of yarn at White Oak Mills textile mill, 1907.  Photograph courtesy of http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newsouth/5493

Coming from a family of sheep myself, I understand and appreciate the work that goes into the cultivation of wool.  It includes methods anywhere from promoting good bloodlines in your herd to insuring a qualified buyer of your wool when it is in the raw.  Wool is a material that is still in high demand today and it requires a lot of care between the back of the sheep to the store shelf.  Man will never be able to reproduce a material that is as efficient and has all the qualities of wool.

History of Wool. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iwto.org/wool/history-of-wool/  

Tracing My Farming Roots:  A Long Line of Sheep 

Bair Family Ranch.  Located in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.  Photograph courtesy of John Fielder.  

I find it very fitting that the first post on this blog is one addressing my personal affiliation with farming.  I come from a very long line of ranchers and my immediate family still practices it today.  Although my family has operated out of Colorado from a long time, we actually originated in Utah.  A man by the name of Joseph Elmer Bair, my great-great Grandfather, had a ranch in Alpine Utah where he met and married his sweetheart by the name of Eliza Rushton Moss.  The Moss family had ties in Deseret Livestock.  Eliza's parents were unhappy about her union to Joseph, thinking she married far below her, and shunned her from the family.  Because of this, they decided to leave Utah and never look back. 

   

Joseph and Eliza Bair.  Photograph in personal possession.

  

Joseph decided to take up land in Colorado and persuaded two of his closest friends to pool in their money as well.  They brought their sheep from Alpine and all build homesteads around their recently purchased land.   From the very beginning they encountered many difficulty.  They were the first people to ever bring sheep into that part of the country and they suffered greatly because of it.  The only livestock in the area was cattle.  These cattle ranchers were quite unsettled by the idea of sheep sharing their land.  Many of the early herds suffered great losses because cattle men sabotaged their efforts, which includes killing their stock, setting fire to their homes and going as far as attempting to take their very lives.  Another challenge that threatened them Mother Nature herself.  In the beginning, they tried to run the sheep in Colorado year round, but quickly learned that the winters were too harsh.  They then acquired winter permits in Eastern Utah near Moab in a town called Thompson.  This allowed them to summer the sheep at the ranch and winter the sheep during lambing season where the weather was much less of a burden.  They would load all of the sheep onto a train and ship them from Glenwood Springs Colorado to Thompson Utah.  The men would ride the train along with the livestock, work animals and all of their living equipment.  When they were in need of supplies, they would ride their horses 37 miles from Thompson to Moab.  In May, they would return to Colorado.  In the beginning, there were many obstacles that almost ran the ranch to the ground, but through constant rebuilding and the loving hand of our Father in Heaven, the ranch prevailed.

In his middle age, Joseph purchased all of the shares of the ranch from his friends and became the sole owner of the land.  Once Joseph became too old to efficiently run the ranch, he passed it down to his son, my great-great Uncle Elmer.  Then it was passed to my great Grandfather, then my Grandfather and his brother.  My Grandfather eventually sold his share to his brother under the specific terms that it be put into a conservational unit so that it could never be bought and turned into a subdivision.       

Click this link to understand more about landowner conservation efforts

My immediate family now operates out of Meeker, Colorado.  We have a much smaller ranch, only a little over 100 acres, where we run sheep as well as cattle.  Our cattle efforts are more of a hobby than anything considering the idea that we only have twenty head.

My personal horse named Sunny after a hard day's work.  Photograph in personal possession.  

It is hard to pinpoint specific historical events that directly effected my family because I believe that probably all of them did, in one way or another.  I would imagine that the one that has had the most effect is the advances in equipment.  This has allowed us to be more efficient and for the work load to lessen slightly.  

Although the income has never made us rich people, I feel my life has been as wealthy is any man's.  I have had life experiences that some people can only dream of and for this I am eternally grateful.

Benefits for Landowners. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.landtrustalliance.org/what-you-can-do/conserve-your-land/benefits-landowners