Columns

Observations on riding out low dairy prices

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by David Marrison

Hello dairy farmers. It has been a long year for our dairy industry. As we inch closer to the December 2008 anniversary of when milk prices took their dive, I find myself thinking as I milk cows each morning about how much longer can many of our dairy operations hold on?
These are not pleasant […]

Lessons learned along life’s path

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Judith Sutherland

“There is a little man in that child who has already stood his ground with the stubborn calves in the barn and the pigs in the feed lot, but there is also the heart of a saint, for he has learned to be patient and kind to those that others consider dumb animals.”
– Sedonia […]

FSA Andy for Oct. 22, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by FSA Andy

Hello, friends!
October is always one of the most active months of the year around my house. Routines are being set for school, fall sports are getting into high gear and, of course, the combines are in the field. We try to take a little time out each year to go on one of the fall […]

Don’t know much ’bout economics

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Alan Guebert

In the transition from farm boy to student to journalist, I skated and stumbled through several academic departments at the Big U.
For example, at the height of Watergate scandal in the early 1970s, I studied political science. A visit home during fall harvest that year, however, cured me of that silliness; I missed the […]

The “I don’t mean to be mean” girls

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Kymberly Foster Seabolt

There is a point in life when you realize that you never do, in fact, outgrow high school. Worse, you never really get over junior high.
We sent the baby off to “middle school” this year. In my day, middle school (AKA junior high) didn’t start until seventh grade. Today it starts in fifth grade. […]

Hazard A Guess: Week of Oct. 22, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Farm and Dairy Staff

Each week Farm and Dairy challenges readers to identify a small tool or gadget (or at least ‘hazard a guess’ as to its use).

Sustainability + farm productivity = future

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Susan Crowell

When it comes to farming, why don’t we see more sentences with the words “sustainable” and “productivity” in them? They are the only things that will keep food on all our tables.

Folklore is wrong: Woolly bears can’t tell future

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by Scott Shalaway

The parade has begun.
Yesterday I counted six as I walked from the house to the garage. This morning I spotted another handful crossing the road as I walked to the mail box. Woolly bears are on the move.

Seasons changing

Woolly bears are just one of many reliable signs of seasonal change that begin in […]

Hazard A Guess: Week of Oct. 15, 2009

Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Farm and Dairy Staff

Each week Farm and Dairy challenges readers to identify a small tool or gadget (or at least ‘hazard a guess’ as to its use).

Fall’s backdrop makes all the farm chores worth doing

Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Judith Sutherland

“Throwing down hay from the highest point of the south mow, I was drawn to the west corner by the tiniest of sounds. Nestled in a tiny bowl of hay, I found a litter of colorful kittens. I watched them stretch and yawn and remember why it is worth the hard work of farming just […]