Judi and her family are actively telling their farm’s story. There’s the Big Green Combine blog where she does a great job helping you get to know her & what’s she’s doing through social media saying:

Following this blog, you will learn all about grain farming and raising cattle in the mid-west. I will be writing about the good and the bad aspects of farm life. Being dependent on weather and commodity markets for a living is not for the faint of heart by any means.  It is not a glamorous life but it is never boring. (Well, driving a combine back and forth for 12 hours a day for two months can get a little tedious.) I would love it if you would join me. It should prove interesting.

There are other websites and channels too:

• Her husband Bill has his own blog, where he posts podcasts on Farm and Ranch Country.
• They have a farm website for Graff Land & Livestock.
• Of course the Graff kids tell their stories occasionally on Kids’ Cattle
• Judi tweet as @FARMnWIFE
• She has a family YouTube channel for FARMnWIFE
• There’s her FARMnWIFE Facebook page for blogging efforts
• And the Google+ profile she has

But I haven’t even mentioned the reason I thought of Judi so soon after starting this series on social media heroes…. The biggest reason by far is she is helping other people be better at social media EVERY SINGLE DAY. See, in addition to all the farming, all the telling of their farm’s story, Judi also has a blog (FARMnWIFE.com) devoted to highlighting ways to improve blogs, written in a way that is totally geared to farmers and others in the ag community!

And in case that’s not enough giving back to the online farm community, she decided to up it even more for the month of January doing a special program based on the book 31 Days To Build a Better Blog by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger. She wrote a post in early December explaining how it would work and that a small group dedicated to building better ag blogs would help each other improve during January. I signed up hoping that my travel and work schedule would allow me to participate…. well people, the enthusiasm level was infectious! HOW COULD I NOT FIND TIME? I just had to do it! Now I will openly tell you that by participating in #BlogChat for a long time, a lot of the info was familiar or things I had even accomplished, but I have been doing a lot of adds and updates. Some in the group are brand-new to blogging and others are like me, have been doing it a while — all of us are enjoying the small group dynamic and the trusted feedback (both constructive coaching and the positive feedback!).

If I were you, I’d start following Judi EVERYWHERE. She’s the kind of person you can ask a question or just read what she’s got going on and get better in your own blogging efforts. Oh, and Judi & Bill don’t need to worry, I won’t actually follow them EVERYWHERE while we’re at the cattlemen’s meeting.

Related articles

• Who Are My Social Media Heroes? Hero #1 is @ArveyColumbus (jplovescotton.com)
• Are You A Social Hero In The Waiting? (cheriallbritton.posterous.com)

Click to view slideshow.

The park we stopped at — Pu’ukohola Heiau– is a National Historic Site and is part of the National Park Service. The park marks the site where King Kamehameha had a temple placed to overlook a gorgeous part of the Big Island’s coast. In fact, we were able to see whales just off the coast and sharks in a cove. It was beautifully serene as the photos show.

After a walk and a wealth of photos, our stomachs were growling and we realized it was well after lunch time in St. Louis. So we did what comes naturally, and asked at the visitors center where we could get a good bite to eat nearby. The first answer was probably the broadest menu or something, but we asked whether that place had fresh seafood. Next thing we knew we were headed toward a lunch wagon near the gas station…. and my mind was dead set on the fish tacos one of the rangers said was so great.

There we had several locals talk through the rest of the menu, look at our maps and give us tips on what else to see. AND we really enjoyed lunch! Although, if you were there later you would have missed out on some of the options because the cook said the fish weren’t really biting today. So if you are ever in Kawaihae, you should check out Da Fish Lunch Wagon — that link will give you the scoop for it on Yelp! And believe me, you won’t be sorry!

If your only familiarity with the Chinese zodiac is the paper placemats used in some Chinese restaurants, you really should take time to read up a bit — or even better, find a way to join it. The festival usually goes on for two weeks after the New Year starts tomorrow (January 23) as the clock ticks midnight.I’ve been lucky enough not only to participate in a New York Chinatown celebration of New Years, but also to have shared it with friends who have Chinese ancestry or who have lived in places with large Chinese populations.And as one friend in Texas loves to point out…. yes, I mean Tony St. James on KFLP radio…. I even dressed as part of a Chinese dragon one year for Halloween! (Hope you enjoy this photo of the group as well as the zoom of my Chinese dragoness self.)

How I Got Involved

When I lived in New York, a friend was looking through the class schedule for weekend courses, etc and stumbled on a weekender on Chinese New Year. The “class” met in Chinatown. It was a full day affair. We had people explain a lot about the Chinese zodiac (I’m a snake by the way) as well as a number of the other traditions. The leaders also provided us a lot of insight into some of the things that make Chinese culture a little bit different more broadly.

We walked around the neighborhood and learned about some of the traditions, seeing red packets up for sale everywhere and foods being prepared. I’m not sure I can decide the highlight of the day though…. seeing an incredible parade with an enormous dragon dancing around the street as firecrackers went off all around us was exhilirating! But the multi-course dinner that didn’t seem to stop was incredible too! We were able to eat all the special foods that you should eat new year’s — dumplings, fish, noodles and more!

Year of the Dragon

The year of the dragon is one of the years that always gets attention globally as it is a legendary animal with great strength. The year is said to be one of great luck and taking the calendar to heart, it is expected to be one in which many Chinese families will have children.

So, today is Chinese New Year’s Eve…. What’s your plan to celebrate?

Related articles

• Chinese New Year 2012 – Year of the Water Dragon (bonniecehovet.wordpress.com)
• Chinese New Year Traditions and the Year of the Dragon (leggotunglei808.wordpress.com)
• Enter the Year of the Dragon: Chinese New Year celebrations begin in Manchester (menmedia.co.uk)
• Chinese New Year – 4710 (helensthatsenglish.wordpress.com)

After grad school in Memphis, I decided to take a job in New York. I decided I wouldn’t be a sissy. Couldn’t let myself be wimpy about digging my car out of the snow, especially if everyone else would be at the office. So I kept on top of things and was there every time the others were knowing I must have been the slowest driver in White Plains. But I couldn’t let it reflect badly on the South. Ah pressure of the opinions of others. LOL!  Living in the Mississippi Delta for more than a decade, I got a big break from winters. There, winter is just really grey and wet but it rarely would freeze. Moving to Memphis put me more in the line of ice since the city is in a place where weather patterns can come together and give you a “wintery mix.” The roads are slippery and folks slide into each other, off the road, into signs and other things. We absolutely do not have ANY interest to get out in this stuff at all. And I’m sure quite a few of the folks who were permanently scarred by the snow that crippled Atlanta last January happen by this blog now and then.

So I’ve definitely had a mix of winters of my own. There are some things though that after 15 years in the south, I’ve thought I better prepare for:

• Getting to & from work — I bought a house pretty darn close to our office thinking I’d be best not to have a long commute! So far, that seems to have been a good decision. Since things have changed so much from my NY days, I know I can work from home when the weather is bad, but I figure most days its open, I should be going into the office.
• Walking  — Ok, its goofy but this is what I worry about most! Southerners don’t walk on snow and ice very often and flashbacks to NY and packed snow on frequent walked paths can get slippery. Ice is killer. And since I haven’t had to get out in it, I need a way to gain a bit of confidence (experience can create that too but alas, that will take time). In August I bought some snow boots with good insulation (thanks to my cousin Lisa taking me to a boot outlet!) and this week, I saw a convo on Facebook that led me to get some lightweight ice cleats that you simply put over your shoes/boots. My friend Jesse Bussard says she has some and gave us the website and all. This was the subject of much discussion! I had coworkers mocking me for overreacting and others getting the info to buy their own. What do you think? (By the way, the ice came & went without me donning the cleats.)
• Having an accessible vehicle — As you can guess from the point above, I doubt I’ll be walking to work! Little things like I’ve been trying to decide where best to park. In this, I am hoping the streets in my neighborhood get visited by plow and salt trucks!  I do have ice melt and a snow shovel ready to go as needed. The ice melt is usually useful on the front steps and maybe even the walkway.
• Driving — I think I’ve kept a bit more of this from days in NY…. and as long as road crews are working, I should be ok by remember basic tips for driving in bad weather as well as remembering Jeff’s ideas on being prepared.

There are lots of other things I’ll need to know… things like this that Chicago-based farm broadcaster Max Armstrong posted on Facebook:  “Every second counts when the people who need this thing are making a house call in your neighborhood. Give them every chance to do their job superbly. Shovel this out too. This message brought to you by the Commissioners of the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District.”

What else do you think I should know before winter storms really knock me around?

Mark's pigs warm inside & lined up to eat

Tonight, after I drove through freezing rain to get home, I just settled in on the sofa to relax before eating dinner. The fact that people who work with livestock on America’s family farms were getting a chance to speak to animal abuse and undercover videos. Kay Johnson Smith of the Animal Ag Alliance was on the show. A friend from Ohio, Joanna Kohnen, and I were watching the show in different states but chatting through instant messaging. We both felt like the show didn’t give livestock farmers a real chance to show what they do so well. So here are some of the images I have when I think of farms….

With the crummy weather we’re having across so much of the US, I can picture farmers and ranchers out doing chores in high winds and heavy snow. It was so bad last year on the Oklahoma ranch Becky McCray and her husband have, and a young calve was struggling so Bubby became the object of great concern in the social media world with people asking for regular updates. Becky was glad to share both photos and video through her flicker feed and Becky’s other social media efforts.

But the daily care of livestock isn’t always in such an extreme. Because of that, I went through and pulled up some other scenes that are much more the kind of video that represents the “factory farms” in the U.S. Afterall, the vast majority of US farms are family farms, even if they are larger than they were generations ago, families are still engaged.

Missouri farmer Chris Chinn did a great video to help me see how hog production works. The video shows how the pens work for the hogs and Chris talks about why they do what they do.Her blog also shows some of the farm’s day to day.

Our friend Will Gilmer at Gilmer Dairy Farm in Alabama posts videos frequently on the farm’s YouTube site and other information on the Gilmer Dairy Farm blog. One of his more recent posts shows his milking herd as New Year’s came in.

Ryan Goodman is a ranchhand from Arkansas (now in Tennessee for grad school) who has seen some of the video like shown today and he wants to be sure people can contact him on his AgricultureProud.com website or the I am Agriculture Proud Facebook page.

California dairyman Ray Prock hosted guests on his farm who shot this video so you and I could see it before visiting! He’s out here telling his story too on RayLinDairy.com.

At Haley Farms in Ohio, Mike doesn’t shoot a whole lot of video but this video sticks with me no matter how long its been since I have watched it. He’s got happy beef cattle.And I had a chance to see how much care they give cattle when I went to the NAILE one fall.

As Kay Johnson Smith said as the close of the program (Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell):

We do not condone any animal abuse. I should say that first and foremost, farmers and ranchers take their jobs very seriously. This is not just a job, it is a lifestyle and they care very much for their animals. This is their livelihood and they are dedicated to the care and treatment of their animals.

She also made it clear that farms & ranchers have clear policies that direct employees to report any issues at the onset. They would not want problems to go unreported as some of the critics do for months at a time. Farmers want to be sure the right actions are taken immediately. When you see one animal abused, it should be reported to legal authorities, rather than watching abuse for months go on. The vast majority of farmers would act to stop abuse immediately if something was happening on their farm. That leads me back to my friend Joanna who has this to say tonight:

What I don’t understand about the piece is why Jane did not give Kay a real chance to explain anything. Rather than pointing out various practices she felt were questionable, she lumped them all together and expected Kay to rebuttal all of them within just a few seconds. It seems to me that rather than discussing why the Animal Ag Alliance was against the “Ag-Gag” bill, Jane seemed to just want to gag the representative. I hope most Americans would be interested in getting the other perspective, especially if they’ve been invited to participate.

Rather than jumping to conclusions, its easy to take a few extra seconds and learn about farms. The farms that farm families like mine have been working for generations are not represented by the farms shown during this segment. If you’d like to know where your food comes from and why farmers across not only America, but across the world have taken up specific practices, talk with us. There are so many farmers who are willing to talk, take a look at Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook! We all have something to say, so please give us a fair chance. Listen, learn, educate!

The images that were captured by the undercover cameramen were APPALLING! I was sickened to see animals being treated that way. Having grown up on a farm in a community where animal welfare is a focus point, I don’t understand how some people could do those things. I’m from an area where school doesn’t even start until after the county fair so that the kids participating in 4-H and FFA are able to show off their livestock projects with pride, after working with their animals for months. From a young age, we know where our food comes from, we respect the responsibility farmers shoulder, just as we respect our animals and most of us are excited to talk to it.