Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Shopping for my daughter Josie is easy. I envy her this. She knows what she wants, sticks to her list, and makes her choices with little indecision.

In response to the appearance of Phakospora pachyrhizi, or soybean rust, in the United States, the USDA developed a federal, state, university and industry framework for surveillance, reporting, prediction and management of soybean rust for the 2005 growing season.

Today's Southern breeze gently rustles the heavy-headed tulips outside my office window before sweeping through the apple tree to sprinkle a shower of blossom petals onto an emerald lawn.

When we speak of land conservation, the farmer in each of us tends to think of caring for farm ground in the best possible way.

These days, everyone wants a say in how you manage the natural resources of your land. Your water, your soil, your manure, your air - you're bombarded from all sides with input.

Ancient people cleaned their clothes by pounding them on rocks or rubbing them with abrasive sands and washing the dirt away in local streams.

A catchy name for a chair shop, the words Pull Up a Chair once graced the sign on a small building in Columbiana that has housed several businesses over the years.

What might be considered cutting edge, different, or a niche market product here is just another day at the farm somewhere else in the world.

The Congressional battle to approve the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) began in earnest with the usual suspects mouthing the usual platitudes to the usual inside-the-Beltway audiences.

This past weekend was a big event, and a memorable one, for certain. The parents of my good friend Cindy celebrated 50 years of marriage, and there was a party big enough to mark it.