Happy Thanksgiving

As we look forward and are puzzled what a farmer is to do in 2009, we need to look at the bounty of God's goodness and give thanks, this Thanksgiving Day.

Approaching Holidays

The approaching holidays are a great time to include peanuts in your entertaining. Peanuts are versatile and really good for you, too.

Yesterday, I made a quick and easy Oriental slaw and everyone loves it.

Just buy the Cole Slaw in a bag. To make the sauce you thoroughly blend together 3/4 cup of Sesame Salad Dressing (I like Newman's Sesame and Ginger), 2 TBSP of creamy peanut butter, and 2 TBSP of the juice from a small can of mandarin oranges. Use a wire wisk and make sure it is blended well.

Now take the mandarin oranges, the bag of slaw, a small bag of slivered almonds and the dressing and toss it all together mixing thoroughly.

Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

To serve top with LaChoy oriental noodles and there you have it.

Politics

We had a board meeting today and I sense a lot of hand wringing and gnashing of teeth. I guess some would call me naive but I am not at that point. We have a President-Elect and we will have to deal with his Administration. We won't agree with everything he does but then I can't remember a President I can say that about anyway.

The fact that he has offered his Chief of Staff position to Congressman Rahm Emanuel from Illinois should put some minds at ease. Emanuel, whose middle name is Israel, is a lifelong, practicing Jew who volunteered in Israel during the first Gulf War when Saddam was shooting scud missiles at Israel. Emanuel is a no-nonsense kind of guy who has been elected by margins greater than two thirds in all of his four congressional races.

Obama also named John Podesta to his transition team. Podesta was a Whitehouse Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton and before that was Staff Director for the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a graduate of the Georgetown School of Law.

A New Administration

As of January we will have a new President and new Administration. I cannot say I am sad to see the old Administration leave. They have been difficult, to say it kindly.

I would think we should have a more amenable group at USDA at the top and I pretty much believe the career folks will take direction from the top.

I know many folks are concerned about the election but let me assure you having dealt with politics for three decades in an up close and personal way; America is still the greatest country on earth and it will still be great the next Presidential election, too.

Politics is like a pendulum, it doesn't swing too far one direction before forces greater than the pendulum itself bring it back in another direction. Though we have a two party system that covers the fringes well, the electorate is still largely based in the middle. God Bless America.

Visit to Georgia Tech

Recently, I visited the Georgia Tech campus to see what our Architectural Studio students were up to. I was amazed at their vision of agriculture and their ideas for a new peanut education and promotion center for the Commission.

They all felt that we need a demonstration area to grow the different crops so visitors can better grasp the depth of Agriculture in Georgia. They all have a vision of a technologically advanced facility and frankly location.

They have looked at "green" construction which improves energy consumption and is friendly to the environment. They even studied a building in Gwinette County which has grass growing on the roof and the medium the grass grows on is a mixture of ground peanut shells and treated sewage sludge.

We should see some interesting final concepts in December.