Too MUCH Water???

See below for the USDA Risk Management Agency Press Release regarding the cold & extremely wet weather conditions seen across the Northwest all Winter..I mean "Spring" ;) I think its best not to complain about too MUCH precipitation on the Eastern side of the state...however...between the FREEZING spring we've had & now the crazy rain & floods that ensued...this is gettin' to be a head scratcher. We aren't in a drought & we aren't on fire...always gotta find that silver linin'?! :)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Contact: Jo Lynne Seufer, (509) 228-6320

jo.lynne.seufer@rma.usda.gov

Options for Farmers with Delayed Planting from Wet Conditions

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, May 24, 2011 ---Cool and extremely wet weather in the inland Northwest has caused crop damage and slowed planting this spring. Dave Paul, Director of USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) Spokane Regional Office, encourages producers faced with questions on prevented planting, replant or crop losses this spring, to contact their agent for more information.

Producers who are unable to plant an insured crop by the final planting date due to an insurable cause, such as excess moisture and flooding have a number of options.

· Producers may plant the insured crop during the 25 day late planting period with a reduction in the production guarantee of 1 percent a day for each day planting is delayed after the final planting date.

· Producers may leave the acreage idle and receive a full prevented planting payment or the producer may be able to plant the acreage to another crop after the late planting period and receive a reduced prevented planting payment.

· Producers with double cropping history can receive a full prevented planting payment within the guidelines of the policy.

· Prevented planting coverage will not be provided for any acreage that does not constitute at least 20 acres or 20 percent of the insurable crop acreage in the unit. Producers need to keep in mind that group policies do not provide prevented planting coverage.

"Producers who are unable to plant due to excess moisture need to contact their insurance company to discuss prevented planting policy requirements related to their specific coverage and farming operation." said Paul. "The producer's insurance company will make the final determination of acres eligible for prevented planting payments."

Paul encourages producers to contact their crop insurance agent for assistance. Producers can also get crop insurance information on the web at: www.rma.usda.gov.

Local crop insurance agents are available to provide program details that reflect the grower's nursery inventory. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers throughout the U.S. or at the web site: http://www3.rma.usda.gov/tools/agents/.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (80) 795-3271 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

Jo Lynne, Spokane RMA

Jo Lynne Seufer, Risk Management Specialist

USDA/Risk Management Agency

Spokane Regional Office

(Serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington)

11707 East Sprague Ave, #201

Spokane, WA 99206

(509)228-6320Office

800-205-9953 (in AK, ID, OR, WA) Toll Free

(509)998-6902 Gov't Cell

(509)228-6321 Fax

jo.lynne.seufer@rma.usda.gov

www.rma.usda.gov

SpRinG fEvEr

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want-oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!

~ Mark Twain

Wheat Life, May 2011 "Farmer near Ritzville, WA spraying weeds"

I tore this picture out from May's edition of Wheat Life and hung it on the wall near my desk at work. The clouds in this picture make a soul just ache... beauty like this was not meant to be ignored, it was designed with perfect intention. This picture is a representation of feeling. You can not truly understand the ache in the soul until you have been under the sky when those clouds look to be moving too quickly by. The sky in this picture will stop you in the middle of even the most aggravating & exhausting handline set. It will take the air from your lungs, empty your soul, and yet fill it even fuller all in a moment.

...Spring, perfectly intentional by design

L-I-V-I-N the DrEaM

Livin’ the Dream

Imagine someone asking you, “What are you up to these days?” and you respond, “Oh, just livin’ the dream.” Does that scenario have a familiar ring to it? I recently mentioned to someone that perhaps they need a tattoo on their wrist that reads in big bold letters, L-I-V-I-N the DREAM. That way when they find themselves slapping their hand to their forehead, a sure and steady reminder of their grand life will never be out of reach.

Often when we answer a question with a phrase like “living the dream” we might just throw in a drop or two of facetiousness with it. However, what would happen if we actually started believing we were living a dream? I recently read that the United States ranks well below other industrialized countries in the areas of Math and Science. However, our students rank shockingly high in one particular category - self esteem. Whew, that is a relief! At least we can find great comfort in that our low intelligence will not damper our spirit and sense of self.

Now that we are armed with the knowledge of our greatest attributes we know just how to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Since most of us are products of the United States Education System we can rule out that our intelligence will propel us forward. It looks like we will have to resort to putting our unusually high self esteem to work. Do not despair just yet; this self esteem business has a few decent qualities we can tap into. Folks with high self esteem believe they can do anything they set their mind to. That might also be due to a lack of intelligent judgment but for this article we will ignore that argument. When a person believes they can do anything or be anyone, they will have an infinite number of dreams to be dreamed and schemes to be schemed.

Now do not misconstrue my words, I am in no way discrediting the importance of possessing intelligence. Instead, I am raising the question that perhaps a solid self-esteem can make up for whatever intellectual shortcomings we may have. Instead of using a phrase such as “Livin’ the Dream” in a facetious manner when someone inquires about your life, what if we actually began to believe we were livin’ the dream? We may not be living some folks’ dreams, heck, we may not be living out our own dream, but most likely we are living out someone’s dream. At this exact moment in time, there are a greater percentage of people in this world who’s greatest dream is simply to survive. Perhaps they lie awake at night wondering how they will scrounge up food for their children, wondering when the gunfire will cease, or fighting a ferocious disease and praying for one last breath of air to breathe. In an instant our own dreams and ambitions appear as shallow and superficial as those of the Kardashians.  

I do not know at what point our contentedness with the unfolding of our lives just becomes settling for less than we are capable of. However, I do believe we need to use this self esteem/intelligence combination as a mechanism for always striving to work harder and dream bigger. No matter how twisted the path we are being led down, once we succeed at keeping our feet on the ground and our eyes to the sky then we will truly be “L-I-V-I-N the Dream”.

Wish I was down on some blue bayou,
With a bamboo cane stuck in the sand.
But the road I'm on, don't seem to go there,
So I just dream, keep on bein' the way I am.
Wish I enjoyed what makes my living,
Did what I do with a willin' hand.
Some would run, ah, but that ain't like me.
So I just dream and keep on bein' the way I am.

The way I am, don't fit my shackles.
The way I am, reality.
I can almost see that bobber dancin',
So I just dream, keep on bein' the way I am.

~Merle Haggard

(Previously published in the April, 2011 edition of The Ketch Pen, a monthly periodical of the Washington Cattlemen's Association. Subscription information here)

Listen/Watch The Way I Am performed by Miranda Lambert