Peterson Farm Bros - From Entertainment to Advocacy

About two years ago a trio of brothers made headlines by creating a parody to the popular LMFAO song "I'm Sexy and I Know It." No one, not even the brothers themselves, had any idea the firestorm they would create that would open the door of agriculture to millions of YouTube viewers.

By now, you know I'm talking about Greg, Kendal and Nathan Peterson, more commonly known as the Peterson Farm Bros. Their first song parody amassed more than 9 million views on YouTube and led them to appearances on national news outlets, Yahoo!'s homepage and countless speaking engagements in the past two years.

I recently heard Greg, the eldest bro, speak at the International Symposium for Beef Cattle Welfare in Ames, IA (which is why I was basically MIA last week) and it was interesting to hear him speak about the progression of their video series. What started out as a video for entertainment purposes has transitioned into a more robust advocacy campaign that is designed to spark more conversations and engage with consumers about farming practices. The Peterson family has even started opening their farm up for tours a few times each month.

Their most recent video All I Do is Farm (a parody of All I Do is Win) is definitely my favorite. Not only do I love that song, (it's on my iPod's running playlist) but they do a fantastic job of explaining why they do certain things and answering some of the questions that viewers might have about farm and ranch life.



Some of my favorite pieces of this video:

• How risky and unpredictable farming is but they just trust in Him
• The volatility of the markets and how that affects their livelihood
• Feeding the cattle a healthy ration
• Caring for their animals has always been a number one passion
• Farming is a family affair
• Conservation is on their minds and they are continually improving their operation and striving to decrease their carbon footprint
• The use of technology and input less to produce more

How can farmers and ranchers do a better job of reaching consumers and food purchasers on the level that the Peterson Farm Bros have? For my non-ag readers - how do you prefer to learn more about farming and ranching? Would you rather see a video like the Peterson Bros parodies, visit a farm or read a blog? What helps connect the dots for you?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

My Old Soul Music Bucket List

If you've been a long-time reader on Buzzard's Beat this post will make perfect sense and not surprise you in the least. My love of witty, meaningful lyrics, mellow harmonies and true musical talent (not T-Swift or Luke Bryan) comes up in blog posts a lot.

I constantly tell my friends and family I was born in the wrong decade. I think I should have been a late 60's early -70's baby. That's when real music was happening. I am positive I am not the only person who feels this way - many of my friends are also classic country junkies, although not many (only one that I can think of) adore classic rock as much as I do. Although I do enjoy Texas country and some current mainstream country, (think Eric Church, Eli Young Band, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum) my heart lies with the classics. For example, I cannot count the miles I traveled on the way to rodeos with this guy's tunes blaring out of the truck speakers:

Bob Seger - photo credit

George Jones passed away a little over a week ago and I'm still struggling with being mopey about it. I feel like a part of my soul has been taken from me. The generation of artists that Jones represents still believed in real lyrical genius, harmony and not caving to radio pressure *I'm looking at you Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Dustin Lynch (seriously, She Cranks My Tractor????) and Kip Moore - tsk tsk*

George Jones - photo credit

The passing of George really opened my eyes to the fact that a generation of musicians who were the soundtrack to my childhood, adolescence and adult life are not only fading away from the spotlight but are also passing on to the next life. It's depressing and makes me want to rewind my life - I'm nostalgic. I can't help it. I have watched the video of Vince Gill and Patty Loveless singing "Go Rest High on That Mountain" at The Possum's funeral more times than I care to count and I think the only time we've ever seen Alan Jackson remove his hat while singing was during his rendition of "He Stopped Loving Her Today." The entire situation is heartwrenching.

The King - George Strait

So, one of my new goals in life is to see the following artists on tour before contemporary radio chokes them out of society and they're forgotten forever by the enthusiastic audience of Top 40 country.

In no particular order of preference:
-- The Eagles - Oct. 2013
-- Bob Seger
-- Garth Brooks
-- Journey - July 2014
-- Merle Haggard
-- George Strait - January 2014
-- Sammy Kershaw
-- Steve Miller Band - July 2014
-- Lynyrd Skynyrd
-- Doug Stone
-- Willie Nelson
-- Reba McEntire
-- Kansas - September 2013, August 2014

-- Alan Jackson

-- Vince Gill
-- Billy Joel
-- Boston - August 2014



Had I written this list a few months ago (that's how long I've had this blog post on the brain), I would have had George Jones' name on it - I'm even more saddened by the fact I was going to get to see him at the Ohio State Fair in August this year.

Willie Nelson - photo credit

What are your favorite bands? Have I forgotten to put someone important on the list? I'm sure I'll add names to it - my lists tend to grow over time.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

 

Gaga's Meat Dress Encore

Yes, she has it done again. Lady Gaga has donned another, albeit different, meatdress. This time she revealed the meatdress at a concert in Tokyo, Japan.

Early reports haven't stated what Gaga's message is regarding this latest meat masterpiece. In fact, they're not even sure it's made of real meat this time but the picture below sure screams for attention. I guess that's pretty fitting considering the wearer.

Photo courtesy here (Lady Gaga)

Until next time - stay meaty!

~ Buzzard ~

Farm Aid Rocks n' Rolls in to Kansas City

Yep, you heard right. Farm Aid is rolling into Kansas this summer -- August 13 to be exact. Farm Aid was started in 1985 and historically has had the goal of raising money for American's family farmers and ranchers.

The annual event's founder, and main attraction, is the ever popular cannabis smoking, long hair sporting Willie Nelson. Nelson, along with his pals (and fellow board of directors members) John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Neil Young, will be raising money for family farmers at the new Livestrong Sporting Park in KCK.

I love that these high profile celebrities are continuing to embrace the farming way of life and are on board to help preserve agriculture. I found this statement on their website:

Independent family farmers are the pillars of their communities. They grow high quality food, are active in civic life, and are essential to the economic vitality of both their hometowns and the nation. As stewards of the land, family farmers work to protect the soil, air, water, and biodiversity in addition to producing high-quality, healthy food for everyone.

Below, you can hear Dave Matthews give testament to the importance of family farmers and healthy food from healthy land.

Favorite part: if you want healthy food, you go to the people who make healthy food from healthy land.

Tickets have already gone on sale and can be purchased at TicketMaster. For more information on Farm Aid, check out their website.

Will you be going to Farm Aid 2011? Do you think Nelson, Mellencamp, Young and Matthews are suitable spokespeople for agriculture?

Until next time
~ Buzzard ~