Well hello and welcome back! 😀 Sorry I’ve been MIA all winter, but here we are, the end of April.
How the heck did that happen?! Anyone else feel that way too? If you were not aware, April is my favorite month of the whole year. MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!! I was able to celebrate my birthday (my ✨golden✨ birthday) this year surrounded by those who love me!
It has been an odd April to say the least. Rainy and cold. Everyone is kind of just sitting around waiting it out to see if Mother Nature will quit throwing a tantrum. I think God needs to have a little chat with her..
At the beginning of the month, I had a close work friend retire. He impacted my life greatly and I surely miss him. I am bummed he is not at work anymore and I don’t see him everyday but I know he is living a very well deserved retirement and I wish him all the best!
Retirement party!
Easter was spent with lots of family and was much needed for the soul. We had a busy day traveling to two grandparents but was a very good day eating good food and being in good company.
Easter bouquet.
Even though it was by no means warm out on my birthday, Hunter and his family put docks in and the dogs got to go for their first swim of the year! Sig loved it, of course because he loves the water and anytime he gets the chance he’s in it.
If you listen closely, you can hear the loons chirping in the background. The dogs had so much fun in the water!
Other than that, April has actually been pretty mellow to say the least. Just one big waiting game for the weather to turn around and for everyone to get into the fields. I think we are all more than ready and just want to get #plant22 underway! Praying for warmer, sunnier weather to come!
Three photos of a girl in different stages of life. Two of sweating it out and one of her working hard.
Can I just share with you the importance of my sweaty selfies real quick?
Now, I am in no way shape or form perfect or think I am perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. You know why? Because hard exist. Jobs get hard. Working out gets hard. Eating healthy gets hard. Life gets hard. Throws challenges and mishaps at you. Causes you to get off track and frustrates you. Well I am here to tell you, none of that matters. It doesn’t. As long as you continue to show up, for yourself, you will see great things. You will experience doubt and feel like you’re failing but remember, every step you take forward is better than where you were.
My job has seasons that require a lot from me. I knew this from the start when I decided this is what I wanted to do several years ago. It’s hard. It gets long and draining but I signed up for this and I am stronger than the seasons. My job requires a lot from me certain times of the year which is okay. I allow myself to basically “take a break” and focus on keeping myself healthy and get the job done. Now this means I am unable to do my morning and evening routines because quite frankly, there is no routine during the busy times (very chaotic). But you know what I do when the season is over? Pick up right where I left off and continue to create the best version of myself because it is something I am extremely passionate about. I don’t want to live my life wishing I could do or be someone or something else. I want to be me and love myself wholeheartedly.
In my opinion you should be at the very top of your priority list. You are all that matters when it comes down to it. So why be unhappy with how you feel or think or look? You have full control on changing and forming your life into something great and powerful. You can want to change lives but if you don’t change your own first, it’ll make it hard to change others.
The importance of these sweaty selfies is to show that I still show up for myself even when life gets tough. I don’t let one mishap or bad day ruin the rest of them. I may not look consistent with my workouts or nutrition to anyone else, but I am doing what is best for me and that is all that matters. Show up for yourself.
Someone asked me this question once. “Does working with hazardous chemicals and products at work cause you more stress?”
Until I was asked that question I never gave it much thought. Part of the reason is because I have always been taught the proper handling protocols and safety factors and what to do if something does go wrong. So when asked the question I thought on it.
My short answer, no. Nothing scares me. (okay except snakes, lol)
The truth is some products I handle could easily kill me, if I don’t handle them properly. That is why company’s are always preaching safety and we are always having to sit through safety meetings and, even though it seems like we’re sitting through the same slideshow or movie time and time again, those meetings are powerful. Safety doesn’t happen by accident. It has to be taught. That is why it is so important to go to those meetings and watch those clips and slideshows. Some of those situations are ones you hope you never have to encounter, but if you were to, you need to be prepared.
The reason this whole topic came to mind was because we are entering the lovely anhydrous season. Ahh yes, anhydrous. I can not wait to fill tanks all day and have dreams of filling tanks all night. All jokes aside. Anhydrous can be a monster. It is by far one of the most dangerous products we handle in this industry. You have to follow all the safety protocols and wear personal protective equipment (PPE) because (like any accident) things can happen in a heartbeat. The best way to protect yourself is to practice safety. Our PPE is very important and should never be taken as a joke or thought of last. Should be first thing on your mind.
Long sleeve shirt
Sealed goggles
Rubber gloves with the ends folded up
Long pants
Boots
Absolutely no contacts!!
Maybe you don’t actually handle anhydrous yourself, but chances are if you live in rural America, you have seen an anhydrous tank being pulled by a pickup or even being applied in the field. Just with farming in general, please be patient. I know it can be hard to be stuck behind large moving equipment. Just take a deep breath and know they most likely won’t be on the road for a long stretch. If you do pass, please pass safely. No one wants an accident to happen.
Here is a little excerpt from a recent social media post of mine:
Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) is the foundation of all nitrogen fertilizers.
This probably doesn’t mean much to many people but for agriculture it means everything. Without anhydrous, we would have a hard time finding sources of nitrogen to feed the plants. Especially our staple crop in the Midwest, corn. If you are aiming for 250 bushels per acre, did you know you’ll need 250 pounds of nitrogen for those plants to grow?
Many farmers use practices such as crop rotation to help with the high demand of nitrogen. Soybean and corn rotations are popular in my area.
Soybeans do this cool thing called nitrogen fixation where the plant can actually take nitrogen out of the atmosphere and fixate it to nodules in the soil that will be available to plants in the future.
3 facts about Anhydrous Ammonia:
-28 degrees F anhydrous is a liquid. When the temp is above -28, anhydrous is pressurized to keep it in a liquid form. (Which is 95% of the time😂)
Anhydrous translates to “without water”. That is why water plays a huge role in the safety of handlers and applicators. If there were ever an accident, water will help with drawing the anhydrous away from skin (since it is water seeking).
It is a colorless, highly-potent odor gas that is lighter than air.
Anhydrous is no joke and should always be used with caution and taken seriously. Proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and training will ensure everyone is kept safe. Professionals only please 👩🏼🌾👩🏼🔬🥽🧤
If you have known me for a while, I don’t think you would question this at all. You’d probably say, “she’s just always had a passion for it.” Which is 100% true, but sometimes I do ponder why it became such a passion of mine. I remember from a young age always being outside and soaking up the bright sunshine and vibrant colors of growing seasons. When I was younger, my love for animals, specifically cattle, was strong. I started 4-H from the young age of 5 and when I got to 3rd grade (how old is that? 8-9?) my mom finally let me get into showing my first bottle calf. For me, showing was always a fun outlet. I know I didn’t have the best-looking show stock, but those calves all had special places in my heart. It wasn’t until 8th grade when I decided, cattle involved too much science and you had to keep their heart beating 365 days of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I still love cattle and I continued to show through my senior year of high school, but since 8th grade I made up my mind to move into agronomy and learn more about crops, weeds, and soils. Once in college I knew I was in the right program. Never once questioned if it was what I wanted to do.
Now my senior year of high school, I earned a scholarship through a local dairy. To receive this scholarship, I had to become and advocate for agriculture. An Agvocate. I spent the summer months before school started to prepare and learn about hot topics in agriculture. You know, GMO’s, sustainability, antibiotics in livestock, and the safety of our food. Throughout the school year, I was to give 9 elementary classroom presentations or projects, 1 high school classroom presentation, and 1 adult meeting presentation. I grew so much my senior year learning how to speak and present in front of a crowd and I think what made it so easy was it was topics I held close to my heart and found important. In any speech classes I had throughout my high school years, I always found a way to include agriculture and talk about it. Growing up in what I would consider a farming community, I still felt there was a lack of connection to agriculture. It was like no one wanted to talk about its importance and people just wanted to believe what some celebrity had to say (even when what they were say wasn’t true).
My biggest goal with my blog is to hopefully share my side of the agricultural world. I work first hand with it everyday at my job. I also have a front row seat for it because of my boyfriend’s family farm. I have had years of exposure from my own family’s hobby farm. My great-grandparents made a living off of farming (the farm that is still operating today by my mom’s uncle and cousin!) Farming and agriculture is all around me, and it’s all around you too! No matter what role you have or even if you don’t have any relation to the direct farm, you still depend on agriculture. One of my favorite sayings, “Remember, without farmers, you would be hungry, naked and sober!” Welcome to my story.
Farming, Fitness, and Food with Victoria 