A heartfelt reflection on a simple summer dish of homegrown vegetables, honoring the resilience, self-reliance, and enduring legacy of Fred's grandparents who lived through the Great Depression.
#NationalFarmersMarketWeek: The Shortest Distance to Better Eating What is food really grown for: nutrition, taste, or just to survive a long supply chain? The truth may surprise you. This National Farmers Market Week, we explore why much of our food is grown to be shipped, not savored, and how local farmers' markets offer a fresh, flavorful, and community-powered alternative.
Just as all politics are local, all farming is local. Terrain, soils, weather patterns, market access and cultural production practices vary dramatically across the Fruited Plain, as do the issues and concerns shaping ag policy. So it only makes sense for the entity that combines politics and farming to go local. Because in an urbanized city located on the banks of the Potomac, run by elephants and donkeys, you don’t see many cows, pigs or chickens, much less corn, wheat or almonds.
Just step outside. It's brutal. You’ll instantly know it’s “sweating season” across the South and much of the Midwest. Sure, temperatures are hot, consistently now in the upper 90s across the Delta. But it’s the humidity that instantly gets your attention and triggers sweat glands overload. The dew point - aka "the misery index" - indicates the temperature where dew forms: the higher the dew point, the more moisture is in the air. The National Weather Service defines dew points above 75 degrees as “oppressive.” That’s where we’ve consistently been across the Delta; most days reaching the upper 70s.
This Week In Ag #124: Live Aid: Music That Fed the World (and Filled My Parents’ Basement) This past Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the greatest PR and musical event in history. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London. And at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. It was viewed by nearly 40% of the world’s population. The event was Live Aid, a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for famine relief in Africa. It was the event that forged a generation, my generation, Gen X. I’ll never forget that day. Dad was among the first in our neighborhood to purchase a satellite dish. I threw a party that day, attended by seemingly every college-aged aggie in the county (or at least dad seemed to think so)
The Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4. At 887 pages, it certainly is big. As for being beautiful, that will be in the eyes of the beholders. Like most budget bills, depending on your point of view, the contents may resemble that famous Clint Eastwood film, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” But what does BBB specifically mean for agriculture?
This Week In Ag #122: A Farmer's Fourth of July: The Fireworks Waited For many Midwest farm families, the Fourth of July wasn’t about fireworks or cookouts—it was wheat harvest season. In this personal reflection, Fred recalls a time when the combine came first, soybeans followed close behind, and the only bangs came from the grain bin, not the sky.
Making Memories by Making Hay A nostalgic look back at the labor, sweat, and family memories made during hay season — from hand-stacking square bales to the arrival of the game-changing round baler.
Raising a crop takes more than seed and soil—it takes faith. Just like raising kids, farming is full of stages that bring joy, stress, hope, and awe. From emergence to canopy and tasseling to harvest, each milestone tells a story of patience, persistence, and purpose. Here’s a look at the defining stages that make farming not just a job, but a calling.
The 1980s Farm Crisis: Will We Go Back to the Future? Ushered in by the USA Olympic hockey team’s “Miracle on Ice” and the flight of the space shuttle, Americana was running wild. The decade of excess featured a soaring stock market, booming GNP, and iconic movies and fashion. This was the era of Yuppies… the age of video players… when MTV actually played videos. The 1980s were totally awesome, for nearly everyone but farmers.
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