The 2008 survey and report, “Place Matters,” found a substantial majority of respondents in all rural regions would advise a teenager to leave for opportunities elsewhere. That’s a sad statement. We must find the vision and political will to reverse that reality. We must find a way to bring rural America back to life.
Editor: If you have done any calf rearing you know how difficult the task at hand can be. My husband and I took our son to a livestock auction as part of his 4-H learning experiences. This was not the first livestock auction we have attended. What a learning experience it was. I love animals. [...]
Hello Again! It seems as though spring has come early, as I watch the snow drops bloom and see the daffodils shooting skyward. This has been an unusual winter and I’m pretty sure that we can count on more snow and cold before it’s all said and done. March has a way of catching us [...]
A good start on having a profitable dairy farm is a high milk price; however, the fundamental need is astute management of the cows, facilities, personnel, and the flow of funds. Management practices Good managers need information on which to make decisions, rather than it “just feeling right from the gut”. Information can be gathered [...]
The upcoming Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo, one of Ohio’s top outdoor shows, has a new owner and name. Yes, sport shows are owned and produced by private, for-profit companies that specialize in large scale events or who contract with companies to put the shows together. Turkey Expos The Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, Deer [...]
As I sit and look at the weather outside, the sun is shining and it is almost 40 degrees in February in Ohio. Wow, what’s next? Spring, and along with spring comes Envirothon. What is the Envirothon? It is a competitive outdoor environmental education event for area high school students. Area III Envirothon will be [...]
I once worked with a guy who fancied himself a comedian. One sunny morning he said to me: “It’s gonna be tough sleddin’ today!” “Why?” I asked, taking the bait. “There’s no snow!” he answered triumphantly. This winter it’s been tough sledding for kids in most of the northern parts of the country that usually [...]
The comment that my children are “amazingly well behaved” accompanied an email forward of a video-gone-viral that has blanketed the media. The video features a father so fed up with his snotty teenage daughter that he read her the riot act before videotaping himself shooting her laptop in retaliation. Some called it child abuse. Me, [...]
While perusing the notes on the PaBirds listserv last week, a subject line from Feb. 17 caught my eye. It was posted by a friend of more than 20 years, and it read, “My annual dove!” Kermit Henning of Mechanicsburg, a town located just west of Harrisburg, reported that for the fourth consecutive year he [...]
As corn and soybeans cash prices flutter around their post-harvest highs, a farmer telephones with a question: How do February’s stronger prices compare to 2010 season average prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton? Well, let’s see. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the national average cash price for 2010 corn was $6.38 per [...]
