THE LAND — JULY 9/JULY 16, 2021
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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Do yourself a favor, try the flavor of The Lord A couple of years ago my son Jonathan acle I wanted did not come. (who was about three years old at the I wonder if there are any who, like me time) and I were headed outside on a when I saw Jonny eating dog food, look summer day to do some routine chores. at Jesus and think, no thanks. Maybe As we strolled past the dog dish, Jonny you have been hurt by the church, expenonchalantly bent over, grabbed a handrienced insurmountable losses, endured ful of dog food, and popped it into his devastating heartache or just never took mouth. I was stopped dead in my tracks, interest. But, like Jonathan, I exclaim, eyes and mouth wide open, and Jonny “Why not? He’s good!” I want to invite DEEP ROOTS kept right on going. I quickly attempted you to taste and see. It could be that it to gather my wits and catch up to him as By Whitney Nesse starts with a simple prayer or a dusting I shouted,”Jonathan, you can not eat dog off of the Good Book and reading some of food!” He looked at me and with a furrowed brow said, “Why not? It’s good!” I immediately began to question my parenting skills — or lack thereof. Questions raced through The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has scheduled a my mind: Where had I gone wrong as a mother? Is virtual roundtable diving into key considerations for my cooking that bad? Will he actually get worms farmers seeking to adopt climate-friendly carbon from eating dog food? I was praying he had not sequestration and other practices. shared his acquired taste for dog food at school out IFBF’s “Carbon Credit Markets: What Farmers of fear I would get a call from the teacher! Need to Know” virtual roundtable will help answer As I continued to try and compose myself, giving questions and provide valuable insight as farmers myself the reminder that all of my other children seek to reduce their carbon footprint and navigate had eaten a kibble or two and nothing happened, I the ever-changing agriculture environment as priexplained to Jonathan that dog food is for dogs just vate-sector companies present new opportunities like people food is for people. He shrugged his and federal programs are developed. shoulders and we continued to finish up our chores. The roundtable will take place July 14, from noonLater on I was retelling the earlier events to Karl 2:30 p.m in a very animated fashion. We both laughed hysThe virtual roundtable will answer farmers’ questerically and agreed that neither of us really knew tions including: What do carbon credit programs mean whether or not dog food actually tasted good because neither of us had tried it! I guess the mys- for farmers in terms of cost and commitment? What does a farmer need to share, and how long is a farmer tery of how tasty dog food is will remain as I have locked into an arrangement, if new Federal programs yet to allow dog food to fancy my palate. Psalm 34:8 brought the story of my Jonny to mind. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” I have, metaphorically speaking, tasted of the Lord’s goodness. I have tasted the Lord’s goodness in a broken marriage being restored, five beautiful children, peace in times of trouble, clarity in the midst of chaos, friends in times of loneliness, healing of emotional wounds. These are just a few morsels of the ways I have tasted of the Lord’s goodness. Minor Some of the aforementioned came all at once — Roof Leaks? like being served a heaping dose which left me feelCALL US! ing full and satisfied. Others were more like serving myself ice cream — the strenuous work of scooping the rock hard goodness from the ice cream pail, then enjoying one small bite at a time; not too fast or the result will be brain freeze, yet not too slowly or the whole thing will melt. I can also recall times when I felt as though the Lord was giving me tastes of cocoa powder, bitter and dry, coming in the form of prayers unanswered, untimely deaths, and loneliness that could not be shaken. Yet at just the right time, God would take something bitter and dry and create something sweet — like taking a motley crew of women and turning them into my best friends; or opening my eyes to see everyday miracles even though the mir-
its pages. Again, I want to invite you to taste and see that the Lord is good! I still have no plans to try out the dog’s food, but I do plan to continue to taste of the goodness of the Lord. I am going to start by thanking Him that Jonny lost his appetite for dog food! Whitney Nesse is a sixth-generation livestock farmer who is deeply rooted in her faith and family. She writes from her central Minnesota farm. v
Registration open for Virtual roundtable arise? What are some of the burdens or challenges involved, and what practices or measured outcomes are required to be met to enroll in a program? The virtual event will kick off with an overview from American Farm Bureau Federation economist, Shelby Myers, and Dr. Joe Outlaw, professor and extension economist at Texas A&M University. The topic overview will be followed by a roundtable discussion with representatives from companies currently offering carbon credit programs. Participants will also have an opportunity to submit questions prior to the webinar. The roundtable is free for Farm Bureau members and $50 for non-members. For more information, visit the IFB website at www.iowafarmbureau.com. This article was submitted by the Iowa Farm Bureau. v
