Heather Lifsey Barnes
I was raised in the city and spent 10 years living on the farm. Spend my days raising three boys, working for my state's Department of Agriculture and appreciating farmers and ranchers.
Women in Ag: Adding Agriculture to the Classroom
We often talk about how the number of people with connections to farming are decreasing. This affects agriculture in many ways, but one I rarely hear talked about is in the classroom.
Women in Ag: The Crack of the Bat
Baseball season is in full swing and I think most people recognize the sound of a bat as it connects with the ball. You can thank agriculture (and the player at bat) for this signature sound.
Usually when I hear conversations about agriculture the discussion involves food (fruits, vegetables, grains, livestock) and occasionally fiber (cotton). Rarely do I hear agriculture and forestry mentioned in the same breath but the truth is that forestry is a huge part of our industry.
Women in Ag: When the Rain Doesn't Come
When the rain doesn’t come, they work twice as hard on the farm, which I didn’t think was possible.
When the rain doesn’t come, the crops can’t take advantage of the nutrients and fertilizer in the soil.
When the rain doesn’t come, we worry if the seedlings will emerge, if the transplants will survive, and if the crop will produce.
When the rain doesn’t come, we set sweet potato transplants, then have workers walk the field with a peg to replace the plants that didn’t survive.
Women in Ag: Dear Little Tikes
Dear Little Tikes,
My son received one of your turtle sandboxes for Christmas two years ago. He loves his sandbox and is happy spending hours moving sand around in it.
I would like to make one suggestion that I think many of your customers would benefit from. See, we are farmers and live in the country. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but one of our fields is less than 20 feet from the sandbox.
Women in Ag: The Flowers Must Go
I love flowers. I love working in my yard and adding flowers to my landscape. In my yard, flowers are acceptable. But not so much on our farm.
If left alone, tobacco will produce flowers. I think the flowers are beautiful, but they have to be removed. The earlier they are removed, the better. If the plant is allowed to reach full flower, the plant will start losing yield quickly.
“Topping” tobacco removes the flower buds, the reproductive part of the plant. There are several benefits to topping tobacco: