Chuck's Chat-Welcome to April!

With all the pranks, jokes, and misguided happenings by our national leaders, April Fools’ Day seems like just another day of the week, except it keeps reoccurring. (cue the Bill Murray references)

Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.

People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele. It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.

The Montgomery County Farm Bureau board of directors will be nominating farmers for the 2021 county natural resources, farm family, century farm, and sesquicentennial farm awards at their April 6 board meeting. If you know of someone deserving, let us know soon. No foolin’!

Saturday, April 17 will be the annual “Coffee with the Legislators” at the Farm Bureau office in Independence. Senators Peck and Fagg, along with Representatives Blex, Kelly and Proehl have all been invited to share what’s been happening in Topeka, as well as some insight into the future. Beginning at 9:30am, this will be a great opportunity to visit with our local leaders face to face.

This summer Kansas Farm Bureau will be hosting gatherings across the state to reconnect after a challenging 2020. Plan on joining for food and fellowship with fellow Farm Bureau members. Our local event will be held July 7, somewhere in Labette County. Stay tuned for more. Current dates and areas are listed here https://www.kfb.org/Article/Big-Tent-Reunion.

Kansas Farm Bureau will also host a virtual townhall with Sen. Jerry Moran on April 27 at 4 p.m. Moran will provide updates on his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies subcommittee. He'll provide an update on current legislation and a general D.C. update. Registration is required, and can be done at this site.

https://kfb.zoom.us/.../regi.../WN_8W3eSyVMTnyoaMu0Zib3iQ...

I hope everyone is getting out and enjoying the warmer weather. If you’re still cooped up in hiding, shame on you. There are a lot of small businesses depending on all of us for a full recovery.

Remember, buy local!

God Bless America

Until next month,

Chuck Voelker