You just never know who's going to show up in Times Square. One minute it's a California potato farmer named Brian Kirschenmann, the next minute it's The King himself. Kirschenmann was in New York City to man the Lay's Mobile Farm trailer, a 10'x70' by 14'-high trailer celebrating the farmers who grow potatoes for Lay's potato chips. Kirschenmann is the fifth generation of his family to grow potatoes, and probably the only family member to actually meet Elvis, who looks like he maybe ought to switch to broccoli for awhile. The Lay's trailer is on a six-city coast-to-coast tour that began in New York City on Monday, and ends in Dallas on August 24. Lay's has created a series of commercials featuring Kirschenmann and five other farmers. They are third-, fourth- and fifth-generation potato growers who have been selling potatoes to Lay's for decades. The mobile farm trailer is part of that promotion. The farmers in the spots are the same guys who'll be manning the trailer. They are really nice guys. They tell their stories about growing food to the people who actually eat the food. Who else tells that story these days? Next time you're at the store, pick up a bag of Lay's potato chips. Eat a few. Just not the whole bag. If you want to see Kirschenmann ad, it's here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa7jH6kxLTc You'll find the other guys there, too.


     You can't stop change. Change is inevitable. But you can cope with it. That was the message long-time dairy farm consultant Robert Milligan (left) gave to a group of dairy industry professionals earlier this month at a meeting in Lancaster County. Dairymen in the throes of a losing battle with plummeting milk prices and soaring input costs go through the same kind of grief cycle that accompanies other major life changes, like divorce and death. Stages in the cycle, from outbursts of anger, agonizing heartbreak, and outright denial before acceptance settles in. Milligan told the people who work with farmers that the better they understand the grieving process, the better they'll be able to help their clients get through it, get to acceptance. Lancaster Farming special sections editor Charlene Shupp-Espenshade attended the meeting and prepared a report for our current edition. You can also read it here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/3082


     Goats are on the El Dorado payroll. Cheaper than lawnmowers tougher on weeds, and they bring their own brand of fertilizer. http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/goats-help-nm-town-go-green/1d0jw6x48