Happy New Year, 2012 in review!

2012 was a busy year and I covered a variety of topics on my blog. They ranged from local issues in the state of Oregon to hot topics of a presidential election.  Most topics were agriculture focused but once in a while I veered off to broader topics such as women issues.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for OregonGreen, feel free to take a look!

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,200 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.

My Top 5 posts were:

• 1 If There was a “War on Women”, I’d be on the Frontline March 2012
• 2 Verbally Punch the Bully February 2012
• 3 Eat what you want & don’t insult my family February 2012
• 4 Arsenic & Old Rice  September 2012
• 5 High Tech Rednecks  January 2012

Click here to see the complete report.

Thank you for reading my blog in 2012! I hope you continue to read and enjoy it in 2013!

Happy New Year!

 

Practice what you Preach

It’s hard to do, practicing what you preach.

A couple weeks ago I started attempting to make appointments with United States Representatives & Senators for when I was in Washington D.C. for American AgriWomen‘s (AAW) Annual Fly in.  I admit, I didn’t try very hard to make appointments with those who don’t hold the same political views as me.  However, I did make the effort to stop by their office and say hi.  During these visits we learned that Senator Merkley had coffee with constituents at 9 am every Thursday, which happened to be the next day. Senator Merkley is what one would consider liberal or far left and some may consider me conservative or more right leaning.

When I woke in the morning my idealistic “I am going to change the world” attitude was not quite as “gung-ho” as the day before.  I toiled with the idea of not going. I mean, really they are not going to agree with me so what’s the point, right?  Right. No, wrong!!  How hypocritical of me to be a part of multiple organizations that encourage folks to tell their story and go beyond the choir and I am not expecting the same out of myself? Hmmm…

Needless to say, I showed up.

One of AAW’s key issues was the Federal Estate Tax, at the end of this year the current rate will expire and return to  55% tax and a $1 Million dollar exemption level.   I am one of the chief petitioners for End Oregon’s Death Tax and also feel very passionately about reforming the Federal Death Tax as well, mind you these are two different taxes.   AAW asks for complete elimination or at least an exemption and tax rate that is reasonable. While in DC, I spoke with Senator Wyden‘s aide, Congressman Defazio‘s aide and Congressman Walden about this issue.

I try to not let politicians intimidate me. I have always told myself politicians are just people and should be talked to like people. (Insert jokes here) That’s also what I say when I encourage others to contact their representatives in government.

At Senator Merkley’s office I spoke with the finance advisor, the chief of staff and Senator Merkley himself about the estate tax issue. They all agreed that something needed to be done about it but didn’t agree that elimination was the answer.   According to them, the founding fathers intended for their to be an estate tax.  Oddly enough history shows that any estate tax since the beginning of being a nation has been repealed and the current one has been in flux for the past 90 years. (Side note, the best thing I have learned when someone tries to trip you up with a comment like the founding fathers one, just stick to what you know and continue telling your story.)

All three were very sincere and concerned about my family farm and small business. They wanted to work to find a solution as they agreed current exemption was not enough.  Also they were really glad that I was not “Big Ag”  and was continuing on my family’s legacy because not many had that opportunity.  That was very interesting considering 98% of farms in the United States are family owned & operated.

I did learn from the Senator’s natural resource aide there is that they are trying to get a “goose amendment” in the farm bill.  In the recent years the geese have become a real problem in area for farmers. It’ll be interesting to see what it all entails.  The geese virtually wipe out crops, read about here in my friend Brenda’s blog post.

While the staff was pleasant, courteous and somewhat knowledgeable, I couldn’t help but observe that it appeared that a lot of them weren’t from Oregon.  In fact the natural resource aide was from rural Maryland and received a Master in Forestry from Yale.  I realize the east coast has trees as well but there are very distinct differences.  Just some food for thought.

While I slightly dragged my feet on meeting with the Senator, it was definitely worth it.  I started a conversation with possible further discussion about the death tax and I learned about the goose farm bill amendment.  Is he going to support total elimination of the federal death tax? Probably not.  Will he remember me? Maybe not this time ,but probably by the 3rd or 4th time. Will he think of me as a family farmer? Yes. Will I continue to meet with people who do not hold my same views? Absolutely.

“It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”  -Eleanor Roosevelt

Telling my story to Senator Merkley

Hunk of Meat Monday at Pinke Post

Every Monday my friend Katie Pinke (twitter) posts a recipe on her blog, Pinke Post, about meat.  Some people have Meatless Monday, while others have Hunk of Meat Monday.  In her most recent post she asked me to guest blog on an elk recipe.  I thought I’d share:

Monday, October 3, 2011

Hunk of Meat Monday: Elk burgers by Marie

With hunting season upon us on the North Dakota prairie, I am going to feature wild game recipes as much as possible for the next couple months. Today my friend Marie from Oregon shares her elk burgers complete from the elk she shot to the tasty burger recipe she served last week for her birthday dinner.

How to make elk burgers? Learn today from Marie of Oregon Green.

Last January I shot my very first elk with my custom shortened Ruger .270 (Marie size).

I was pretty darn excited mostly because it would fill my sister’s and my freezer for the year.  After it was all cut and wrapped by my amazing dad, grandpas, mom and grandma there was approximately 300 pounds of delicious elk meat.

A third of that was elk burger which is great because you can use it in tacos, spaghetti or make delicious burgers.

Last Wednesday was my birthday. I made elk burgers. My mom had given me a big game cooking book that covers venison, wild pig and bear.

http://www.scotthaugen.com/books/biggamecookbook.html I used a recipe from the cook book.

The recipe called for 1 pound of burger, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of red wine and salt and pepper to taste. I also added fresh minced garlic and some Cougar Gold cheese crumbles. (I like to experiment.)Since we were having company over I quadrupled the recipe…that may have been a little excessive.I mixed all of the ingredients together.

 

Made it into patties.  (The white flecks are the cheese crumbles)

BBQ’dAnd enjoyed. My sister Callie showed off the finished elk burger.

The burgers were served with a side of Cougar Gold Macaroni and Cheese.

When making the elk burger recipe again I would use more salt and pepper and a little less wine which means more wine for me. My sister thought the burgers were better the next day possibly because the flavor really soaked in over night. Overall though the recipe was good and I would make it again.

Thanks Marie! Marie and I first connected on Twitter. We met in real life in Nashville in August and I just love her zest for life. She’s a witty and outgoing Oregonian farm woman that rocks a career and makes a mighty elk burger we all just learned.

I am linking up this recipe today for Hunk of Meat Monday with Beyer Beware.

Do you have a wild game recipe you prepare for yourself, family and friends? Living on the North Dakota prairie, we eat a wide array of wild game from pheasant to goose to venison plus plenty of fresh walleye. (Right honey?) We are truly hunters and fishers. That being said, I
really am not experienced in preparing wild game in the most delicious ways. Mostly, I experiment like Marie did with adding a couple extra ingredients to a recipe I find. If you want to guest post and share a wild game recipe in the coming weeks and months, let me know.