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ON-FARM THOUGHTS: Tis the season to Reflect, Recharge, and Read
by Larry Wegner
It is the merriest time of the year.
The Christmas festive season is always a time to gather with family and friends to catch up with them and everything in their lives, the good and the bad. I enjoy reaching out to people I have not seen for a while just to say “Hello, how are you” and if they answer me, it is all good.
This fall I read a blog from Ranching for Profit by Dallas Mount who wrote “we spend too much time being critical of all the things we do not do or get done and not on what we actually did accomplish.” We are goal orientated. I found this so true. We do not celebrate what we complete, rather, we beat ourselves up on what we did not complete.
In each of our goal settings for 2025 the first goal should be listing our accomplishments for the year and enjoy the sense of pride in what we did. I am talking directly about your accomplishments in 2024. Your big and small projects like building a fence, paying the bills on time, creating a grazing chart. Heck, even taking time to pet the dog every morning when you go outside. And include those family events too. Sometimes life hands us unexpected things that were not on our goals list. But we did what was needed and we are still thriving. We must be available for family and friends, or we may realize we are all alone and have no one to share it with. I strongly believe that goal setting is important but always take the time to congratulate yourself too.
Reflecting on the success of the recent 2024 MFGA Regen Ag Conference, it was great to meet old friends, and I made a few new ones too. The conference room was full, the experts staffing the trade booths inspired me to think of new opportunities and the food was great. You can always tell how informative the information was taken in, when you are still thinking about and diffusing the information weeks later. To the MFGA board and staff, well done, you raised the bar again.
Last year for Christmas, my family printed a collection of all the MFGA Blogs I have written in the last few years. I have never looked back at what I have done after writing the blogs. I tend to gather my thoughts, write them up when I feel I have enough and then move on to the next job on my list. To be honest, I was humbled to see the three years of blogs printed and presented into a booklet that I can look back at. Thank you to my wife Rosemary, sons Max, Herb, and Brooke, Herb’s partner., I am proud of the MFGA Blog profile and content, a legacy we have created together.
I would also like to say a big “Thank you” to all those who reach out to me or MFGA after the blog is published with feedback and bouquets. Also, those in media or other organizations who reprint the blog to share with others, a big thank you. I would also like to thank the other writers who share their ideas and thoughts via the MFGA Blog. I think together we have positioned blog to evolve into a place to share ideas and thoughts in our forage production world, we will all gain from the diversity of our collective voices.
A few years ago, at this time of year I wrote about an Icelandic tradition of Christmas gifts called Jolabokaflod, where books are given along with beer and chocolate to help break up the Icelandic winter. In that spirit, I am going to share with you a few books that I view as having a positive change in my life, personally and on the farm as well.
· Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. This is an excellent book on the way money works in our lives; it is simple to read and follow. My sons engaged this book when they were in High School. As with many things, reading a book was not what some young people have time for, so my boys bought the audio book and listened when they were in the tractor or on a long drive. Even via that listening mode, they were exposed to the thoughts in the book and hopefully learned. The author has several other books that he has written on money management. “Cashflow Quadrant” and “Why the A students work for the C students and the B students work for the Government” are the two I have enjoyed but there are many more.
· The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. I have been told this is one of the most started, not finished books out there and I was one of them. After several attempts at reading the whole book, I took a two-day workshop on the book. It has been a major influence on my life, setting priorities in my personal and business life. How to identify the bigger issues in your life and prioritize them over the smaller but still important life issues. I still remind myself to stop and become an effective listener, it is not as easy as it sounds. The concept of a circle of concern/circle of influence deals with issues that we can do something about and those that we cannot affect but should know about. If you ever wonder why some people can get a lot accomplished, and some are just spinning their wheels, this book will help you to understand.
· Nourishment by Fred Provenza What Animals Can Teach Us About Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom. I found this book to be a wonderful read as Fred retraces his life as a boy to a young man working on a ranch to researcher and educator at a university, dealing with cancer and finally stepping back from working world to family and life fulfillment post career. A big part of Fred’s work was watching and observing what did animals eat and what they did not eat. He proved that cafeteria style mineral feeder can and does work. Also, his work on feeding livestock a selection of food sources was cheaper and less work than a Totally Mixed Ration (TMR). I need this book on audio for my sons so they will know what I am talking about.
· The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker: The Surprising Truth About Flood and Flavor I am rereading this book this winter as there was so much information on the food industry and how the food industry is working to gain our food dollars. It is simply eye opening. It is an interesting read and flows well. If you want to better understand the big money food industry, then this book is for you.
· The last author for this year has a set of books that deal with soil health and different plants to use in a cover crop blend. The author, Kevin R. Elmy from Saltcoats, SK, now travels the world communicating with producers dealing with soil health issues. The first book is Cover Cropping in Western Canada is a book full of beautiful pictures of the different plants that can be grown in a cover crop mix with a description of how and why do and do not work together. Think of a mono crop like a violin solo. And when you have a thousand violins playing together it is great but one-off note will stand out. Now think of a multi species cover crop like an orchestra with the sounds building and working together. If there is an off note or a missed key, it does not stand out.
· Kevin’s other book is Not Just Dirt: Revitalizing Soil with Regenerative Agriculture Principles. In the book he reviews the principles of soil health, in the second half the book he does case studies of producers he has met on his travels and tells their stories. I enjoy these stories of producers trying to solve their problems using regen ag and the power of their minds to get ahead of issues.
I would like to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me and my family to all of you.
Plan to have a fantastic 2025. And then tell yourself when you do.
Larry Wegner
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