USDA’s unused case to push own rule
In a striking, two-and-a-half page analysis that ran counter to department leanings, the chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture strongly objected to...
The best ag economist I ‘never’ met
Before I was lucky enough to keep myself in suds and my family in socks with this weekly effort, my previous boss liked to...
Truth and the slime situation stinks
It's hard to mix today's politics with today's food and not get slime, slimed or both.
Bigger and bigger and …
It was, literally, a sight for sore eyes. Two years ago March 12, trumpets blasted in Ankeny, Iowa, as America's new gladiators for agricultural...
Agriculture needs better leaders
How will we -- farmers everywhere -- sustain our ability to feed any of us when there are more of us and less of everything else? Sheep, excellent or otherwise, ain't gonna get that job done. Leaders will.
It should be easy: English for the eater
Ranchers have a well-earned reputation for speaking plain English plainly. Translation As such, cowboys instantly translate phrases like “government revenue enhancements” and “now pursuing...
Watch the traffic, not the lights
A good friend recently reminded me of a story Jackie "Moms" Mabley liked to tell about how easily people are misled into trusting the...
Shouldn’t be a mystery to farm folks: The customer is always right
UEP is working with the Humane Society of the U.S. to codify federal regulations it knows its customers know they want for its chickens.
What is the grain market telling us?
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...
Snowy winter days sure have changed
A dash of sugar-like snow is almost lost in the brown grass and gray sky out my back door. Winter's dullness seems to have...
