Chuck's Chat-Welcome to September!
Opening day of dove season, Labor Day weekend, kids are back in school, State Fair, and football season is here again! That means days are getting shorter, temperatures will start dropping and combines will begin rolling in the corn fields - just as soon as they dry out some. What a growing season it’s been thus far! At least there’s no current forage shortage for cattle grazing in lush pastures, and we’re not hauling water. This is usually the time of year we pray for rains to kick the fescue back into production. I just pray the water gap fence stays put with each rain.
National Farm Safety and Health Week is September 16 – 20. This is an opportunity to increase awareness of safety and health related issues in agricultural settings for not only producers, but for everyone. The most recent national information, dated 2016, shows that 417 farmers and farm workers died from work-related injuries, making agriculture the most fatal occupation sector. Transportation accounted for nearly twenty percent of all injuries and deaths. Fall harvest and planting operations require concentrated efforts to not only maximize yields, improve and maintain efficiencies, and make sound financial decisions. Equipment must be properly maintained and inspected to insure proper working order. Operators must be trained to run machinery in a safe manner. All drivers on public roadways need to pay attention and use some common sense. Large trucks are similar to trains in that they cannot stop on a dime. Don’t pull out in front of one at an intersection, and don’t follow too closely. Take your time.
On a sweeter note, this is National Honey Month, begun by the National Honey Board in 1989. September is typically when honey producers and beekeepers begin wrapping up their yearly production. The bees normally begin now to prepare their hives and themselves for winter. There are nearly 4,000 species of bees native to the United States, and around 20,000 species worldwide. However, there are only three types of honeybees: the queen, the drone, and the worker, and none of them can survive alone. Bees were introduced to America by the Dutch, English, and Spanish settlers in the 17th century. Bees have five eyes, four wings, and can fly about twelve miles per hour. A single worker bee produces about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime. In order to produce one pound of honey, two million flowers must be visited. A hive of bees can produce sixty to one hundred pounds of honey annually, and fly nearly 55,000 miles per pound produced. Approximately 80% of the pollination of the fruits, vegetables and seed crops in the U.S. is accomplished by honeybees. In 2000, a Cornell University study reported the direct value of honeybee pollination to U.S. agriculture to be 14.6 billion dollars annually. Something to truly think about, and not take for granted.
The Montgomery County Farm Bureau annual meeting will be held Tuesday, October 1 at the St. Francis Xavier Church Parrish Hall in Cherryvale at 6:30. We will once again be having a silent auction to raise funds to assist a county member with expenses due to unforeseen circumstances. The name will be announced in the upcoming weeks. In addition, a Kansas Farm Bureau representative will be present to relay information pertaining to the newly launched member benefit health plan. Furthermore, local Farm Bureau Financial Services agents will be on hand to entertain questions and concerns regarding plans and enrollment options of the plan, which also begins on October 1. You won’t want to miss this meeting, as we move forward into an exciting time with Kansas Farm Bureau.
Fall begins September 23rd. Let’s hope for a more normal weather pattern than we’ve experienced thus far.
Until next month,
Chuck Voelker