Feeding Generations

Matt's Grandpa Reese is being inducted into the Hancock County Hall of Fame next week. Matt will be speaking on his families  behalf and helping to accept this this award for his Grandpa who is no longer with  us. Never got to meet him but he has some pretty fantastic children, grand children, great grand children and a wife who could keep anyone on their toes. This is something Matt pulled out of the top of his head to close his talk next week. I thought it was too good not to share.

For a farmer to raise a

fruitful crop is a noble thing indeed

But a farmer who raises farmers

will generations feed

                                                                                                     ~Matt Reese

Recipe that Celebrates

As we celebrate July 4th with our friends and family we often do so with good food. Take the time to appreciate the freedoms we have as a Nation but also the freedoms we have to make decisions when it comes to what we eat. Farmers and Ranchers all over the U.S.A. are working hard to provide safe food that is affordable and abundant. Large farm or small, organic or traditional we have the ability to make choices that are best for our own dinner table. I encourage you to take the time to reflect on what our country was founded on and the principles that our country was based.


Enjoy this patriotic recipe that has become a tradition in our family each 4th of July. The kids love to help bake and decorate and it is an opportunity to talk about history and make it fun.

Ingredients

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:
2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

Serve this cake right in the pan.



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Tuesday EWEsday: Fudge in the Field

Fudge, one of our rams poses for a photo! This is a name that Campbell gave him as soon as she saw him, it has stuck ever since. He is quite happy to be out in the pasture with 17 of our ewes. Right now we are breeding for fall lambs which will be born in September or October. We select which ewes we want bred to what rams based on the characteristics we want to have in lambs. The sheep are out on pasture and can come in the barn if they like. When the weather is nice they are outside most all of the time grazing and enjoying the lush green grass. We rotate pastures every so often so not to overburden the grass. This also helps with parasites. http://sheep.osu.edu/ should be a concern when raising livestock. We have to maintain a worming regiment for our sheep to help keep them healthy and reading to start pouring all their energy into keeping those baby lambs alive and thriving inside. Farmers and Ranchers always have something to worry about!


Gestation of a sheep: 145-150 days

It is common for a ewe (female) to have 1-3 lambs at each birth

Breed: Horned Dorset

Ag Week in Ohio: What a 4 year old thinks!

Happy Ohio Ag Week to all my friends. There are lots of things going on this week to celebtrate Agriculture in Ohio. Campbell and Parker love agriculture and they love to cook too. This evening Campbell asked if she could fix dinner. She chose the eggs which she just collected for the hen house, ham from farmer Brandt's pig and cheese from an unknown Dairy farmer.  She puts it all together and has a perfect easy and healthy meal. She may be the next generation of Food Network!

Campbell has been cracking eggs since she was 2, she is a pro!

What is Agriculture in the eyes of a 4 year old? "It's farming mommy. I like tractors but when I grow up I want to be a veternarian of horses."



Tada! Great meal in less than 5 minutes. Looks like
Parker even wants some!





Add in some cheese and ham.



Harvest Time: Corn Harvest in Ohio 2011

Ohio Corn Harvest 2011 Video

As the 2011 harvest comes to a close I want to thank all the grain farmers who work so hard to feed our country and even our world. They not only work hard to feed people but the animals that I and many others raise.

I put this documentary style video together to showcase how corn is harvested. It will take you out into the corn field and end  at the grain bin. Even if you are around fields of corn,  I think you may take something away with this shoot. I even learned a thing or two. Farmers work hard and use  technology more than you may think. They have many new tools that can keep them even more efficient. Farmers are naturally resourceful and value technology.
Did you  know while in the combine or on the go they can use an App on their phone or tablet computer  to control their grain dryer? I am excited to see what will be developed in the next 5-10 years to help even more.
Thanks so much to a few of my favorite farmers for taking time to help  me make this video possible. The corn harvest is still underway in Ohio, it has not been a typical year due to all the rain. Many farmers still have corn out in those fields. The joke was some may be harvesting into December and I laughed, it just may be true for some farmers in my area.

This field corn will be used to make ethanol here in Ohio or possibly be shipped
out to N.C. to be used to feed chickens and hogs. Fields are averaging around 200 bushels per acre.
Around 1,000 bushels of corn will fill a semi trailer.