Sleeping dog ignores market faults
For nearly a decade, the Packers and Stockyards Administration, the USDA watchdog to ensure competitive, fair livestock markets, has been little more than a sleeping dog, according to a devastating, 36-page report released by USDA's Office of Inspector General Jan.
Black and white in cat and dog fight
I found myself playing referee yesterday, standing in the middle of a cat and dog fight. The scrappers were not a dog and a cat, as you might suspect, but two humans with strong opinions on canine and feline superiority.
CHiPs are down for school-play costume
You just never know when you will be tapped for greatness. On the day the play parts were passed out by the school's music teacher - a man with nerves of steel and/or really heavy-duty ear plugs - my son came bearing that slip of paper like it was the sword pulled from the stone.
Bouncing With The Weather Yo-yo
Less than a couple of months away, we'll greet spring in all its fresh (though somewhat muddy) glory.
Farm succession planning is critical
It is no secret the population of our farm families is aging rapidly. According to 2002 U.S. Census, the average age of an Ohio farmer who is the farm's principal operator is 53.
Thinking ahead to grazing season issues
Our January weather here in Ohio has been quite pleasant compared with the cold December we experienced.
Exposing Aussie wheat bribery plot
When it comes to international bribery and illegal kickbacks, Australia's inquiry of its state-sanctioned wheat exporter's, AWB, sleazy dealings with Saddam Hussein-led Iraq is giving an all new meaning to the nation's clever Down Under nickname.
Being in the dark is sometimes best
It strikes me as a bit humorous that everything old has become new again in many segments of our society.
Dollars flow, favors sure to follow
A decade ago, the most dangerous place to be in Washington was between then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and a television camera.
Few things harder than a goodbye
There are few things in life more difficult than saying that final goodbye. When my father-in-law passed away unexpectedly in 1997, my husband said the suddenness of his passing was difficult to grasp, and yet a blessing in its quickness.
