When is a pasture walk more than a pasture walk? When the farmers and ranchers in a discussion group help each other in unexpected ways. When a meeting about forages leads to decisions far larger than the conditions of that pasture. I want to share with you one of those meetings. Last spring, the monthly meeting of our local forage discussion group was held on a member dairy farm. The farm was located south of Portland, Oregon, in the emerald green fields of the Willamette Valley. It was a clear, cool evening, not a cloud in the sky. We met on a leased property 15 miles from the home place.

What is the most important tool on the farm? A friend of mine answered that question at a local school career day by saying his pencil was his most important tool. A great answer in a time when agricultural literacy among the general public is so low and respect for our food producers follows suit. I beg to differ to some extent. To me, the mind is the more important. The pencil simply records the thoughts of the person holding it. Case in point, my last submission to this column had an egregious math error on my sprayer calibrations.

Promoting the dairy industry has always been important to me. I was a dairy princess at heart long before I ever put on a crown and sash.