Home & Garden

No food fights needed, says Texas Farm bureau blogger

Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Tuesday, February 4th, 2014, 4:19pm

No food fights needed, says Texas Farm bureau blogger

By Jessica Domel

For two days, I waited for the battle royale to begin in my refrigerator, but alas, every time I opened the door I found a plain looking head of organic cabbage hanging out on the bottom shelf with my traditionally-grown carrots and cilantro.

After all that’s been posted on Facebook lately about the battle between organic and non-organic, I thought for sure there would be half a head of cabbage left hanging for dear life off the bottom shelf while the carrots and cilantro desperately tried to seek refuge on a taller shelf.

That didn’t happen.

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Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Monday, January 27th, 2014, 7:22pm

White chicken chili - hot, delicious, nutritious

By Kelly Bogard

There is nothing that makes me happier than taking care of my family. Making sure that D and Butters are well cared for is at the top of my to do list daily. But in order to take care of them, I have to take care of me. Eating healthy is just one of the ways I can do that. Bonus: Cooking healthy affects the whole family, not just me. So every time I make a meal that is good for me, I am also making one that is good for them.

Earlier in the week, you may have read Jessica’s post about healthy eating and lean meats. So, I decided to piggyback on that this week and make something that includes one of those really good lean meats, plus a few other things that are good for you.

White Chili:

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Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014, 3:26pm

By Julie Vrazel

Milk comes from a cow, a loaf of bread starts in the field and farmers work every day.

Agritourism–the intersection between agriculture and tourism–is a growing trend fueled by you, the consumer, having an interest in learning more about the food you eat. There are agritourism locations across the state–farms and ranches that offer tours, corn mazes, wineries and more–just waiting for visitors.

The allure of the farm remains strong and the fall season offers many opportunities to dive into outdoor activities. Hay rides, picking the perfect pumpkin, fishing and strolling through the fields are just some of the fall attractions of life on a farm. And if that’s not enough, friendly farm animals are ready to greet those who visit.

And you’re never too old to visit a farm, because all ages can participate in various activities that help connect the dots on common questions, such as how food is grown and animals are raised.

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Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014, 3:16pm

By Jessica Domel

I love so many things about living in the Lone Star State. We have such great foods, the friendliest people and almost every type of geography you could ever want.

I’ve been traveling this state for over a year now with the Texas Farm Bureau, and I’ve come to realize that I could do this for most of my life and never feel like I’ve seen everything there is to see.

I’ve ridden on a combine during corn harvest, counted the sugar cane stalks as they’re planted in the Rio Grande Valley soil, watched as onion plants are packed to be sent to northern states and even photographed a catfish harvest. But I’ve come to learn that what I’ve seen and experienced isn’t even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our great state.

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Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Monday, January 6th, 2014, 3:34pm

He wrote about agriculture's 'Greatest Generation'

By Gene Hall

We will have a funeral for Bill Hoover today. It’s hard for anyone to define “the best person I’ve ever known,” but let’s just say that Bill was near the top of the short list. He was my boss for 13 years and trained me in agricultural communications.

Bill was one of what we call the “Greatest Generation” and he lived for 88 years. Agriculture has had a large share of the members of that generation that accomplished so much. Now, sadly and inevitably, they are passing on.

He was like so many farm boys, raised during the Great Depression in Mount Calm, Texas with his seven brothers. Many of that generation who went off to defeat evil in World War II came back to the farm. In Bill’s case, he wanted to be a reporter and attended one of the world’s finest schools of journalism at the University of Missouri.

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Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Monday, December 30th, 2013, 3:06pm

Old Smokey – the tale of horse riding in Texas with a special friend

By Gene Hall

Things have been lively on the blog for the past few posts—a lot of intense discussion about policy. I’m going to lighten things up a little bit today. Everyone who grew up on a farm has a story about their favorite farm animal—a cow dog, a horse; maybe even a barn cat. Mine is a horse we called Smokey. What a horse he was.

I watched Dixie, my dad’s mare, give birth to Smokey on May 22, 1963, when I was nine years old. From the start, he was “my horse.” He would look black with his long winter coat, but when he shed it his color was an unattractive muddy brown. He was mostly quarter horse and very well muscled. In that respect, Smokey was a beautiful animal.

As we broke him to halter, my grandfather would run his hands over Smokey’s powerful body and softly tell him, “You are a special one, aren’t you?”

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Submitted by Stephanie Frazier, KLTV Community Web Producer

Tuesday, December 17th, 2013, 3:22pm

By Jessica Domel

I’ve had the Twelve Days of Christmas stuck in my head for three days, except it’s not really the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas–mainly because I can never remember anything past the “Five Golden Rings.”

You see, I have a sort of Texas “Twelve Days of Christmas” stuck in my head.

It goes a little something like this:

On the first day of Christmas, my farmer gave to me…
Pecans from his very own tree.

This is what happens when I’m cooking and there’s no music on. I make up the words to songs. Since the song is rather lengthy, I’ll give you the condensed version and skip to the final round.

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