When I was thinking about doing this, it was letters like Q, X and Z that made me wonder if I could really do it. The video I shot as I showed a friend around Memphis came to mind quickly. Although Steve had worked in cotton for years off and on, seeing how cotton was [...]
Top Cotton Blogs You Should be Following
When I tell people I write a bunch of blog posts about cotton, I frequently get a quizzical look or a blank stare. Then when I explain a bit more, that I have worked with cotton farmers for a long time and I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned. Seems some folks wouldn’t think you could [...]
Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones, But Abercrombie Clothes Will Never Fit Me
It has been more than a week since I was making a connecting flight in Minneapolis, I caught CNN and heard about Abercrombie & Fitch not making XL clothes for women. Since then I have seen followup stories and lots of social media posts on it. My reaction didn’t seem to be reflected in social [...]
Reviving My Series of Food Polls With Apples! Which is your favorite?
A few years ago (2010 to be exact) the great butter and lard debate launched a fun series of food polls for my blog over the summer. Each weekend I would do a food poll. The poll could be on almost any kind of food — we talked ice cream, favorite Chicago foods, celebrating by [...]
Left Wordless By Visiting a Flower Farm — Lots of Irises & Peonies!
Last weekend I was in Oregon for work. As I headed back to Portland from Salem, I saw a flower farm and decided to get off of the interstate. I didn’t doubleback to that farm, but luckily I caught a sign for another one — it was Brooks Gardens in Brooks, OR (Brooks Gardens website, [...]
What’s with that Hayden Panettiere cotton commercial?
If you are a fan of Hayden Panettiere, you know the actress has made a name for herself by playing the tomboy daughter of a football coach, a high school cheerleader and hero who can produce fire and a rising star in Nashville who has more than a few personal problems. Well, she is drawing [...]
Lessons Learned Through My Blogging Challenge, an A to Z on Agriculture
I have done a few different blogging and social media challenges in the past couple of years, but have to say the A to Z Challenge may have been the toughest! And even though someone has suggested that I should start again with AA and BB, I’m taking a break from the series — at [...]
Z is for Zoonoses — Zoonoses Isn’t Something Farmers Can Laugh About
The word zoonoses…. seeing that on my screen makes me wonder how many of us giggle at the idea of zoo noses. You know, like an elephant’s trunk or the orangutan’s smooshed up nose? But zoonoses doesn’t have a space and it is a really serious topic for livestock farmers and ranchers. The World Health [...]
Y is for Yams or Are They Sweet Potatoes? What’s the Difference Anyway?
I met Will Kornegay through social media and love that he offered to help me with my “S” post. See, Will grows sweet potatoes and was willing to help me out. But I have worked in the seed business for 15 years and really felt that I had to say S is for Seed. BUT [...]
X is for Xylem — Plants have vascular systems? And with xylem in them?
When I started this, the fascination was about how I could find an X-word for my A to Z on agriculture. I took time and searched around a bit and the appendix of my trusty Cotton Physiology Handbook showed me this wouldn’t be too hard. But I have to admit, I don’t use xylem in [...]
W is for Wheat — Semolina Can Get Chefs Talking Wheat
As my friend Julie and I ate at Pastaria on Thursday night, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chef Gerard Craft. I had to say hello to him as I had hoped to meet him last fall when a group of friends went to his other restaurant Niche one night. It is [...]
V is for Viticulture — Cultivating Grapes for Wine Making
Viticulture is another one of the words that I think may not be familiar to everyone but if you drink wine, you should be really happy that viticulture exists because in a nutshell viticulture is “the cultivation or culture of grapes especially for wine making.” I have to say when I think of viticulture, my [...]
U is for Urban Agriculture — Growing More Food in the City
Urban agriculture. I can’t imagine many people used that phrase 20 years ago but it is certainly a phrase that is growing in prominence. And I think its awesome! The more ways we connect ourselves to the production of food — both in the city and the countryside — the more we will appreciate the [...]
T is for Tillage — Understanding “When tillage begins, other arts will follow.”
Tillage is something that while it may not be well-understood by everyone, it has a romantic quality. We’ve seen some of the earliest photos taken in the United States were of people behind a mule and plow, parting the ground, turning it over in an effort to make the ground conducive to growing plants. That image [...]
S is for Seed — It All Starts with a Seed
My part of agriculture is crops even if I’ve been learning more about livestock in the past few years. And crops tend to start with the seed (I say tend because there are a few like olives that work off cuttings). Seed is probably the most critical decision a farmer or gardener makes in a [...]
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G is for GMOs — What are GMOs & Why Do Farmers Plant GMO Crops?
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A is for Agriculture — an A to Z Series about Agriculture
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Cotton Gin in Kansas Made Me Pump My Brakes
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Stereotype Busters And A Need to Vent
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E is for Elevator — an A to Z Series about Agriculture
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Having the Voices of a Few Incredible Co-workers (and me) on BlogHer
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Farmers are Planning For Cotton Harvest as They Plant Cotton
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Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones, But Abercrombie Clothes Will Never Fit Me
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How to Edit Mobile Photos Quickly & Without Expensive Software
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Reviving My Series of Food Polls With Apples! Which is your favorite?
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Janice Person: LOL! That's too funny! ...
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katlynrumbold: VERY GOOD post!! I've never been a fan of AF, so ...
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Jennifer: Well said, JP. My thoughts were: The guy's a jer...
Who is JP?
Thanks for stopping by and wondering what I am about. My passions are photography, travel and agriculture -- love spending time taking pictures on a farm far from home. Putting all those things together its understandable that differences in culture are intriguing to me…. I can spend a lot of time soaking up things. Its almost always a colorful adventure!
