No month is more associated with a crop than October is with a certain orange orb. That’s why it’s #NationalPumpkinMonth. Pumpkins are the centerpiece of the booming $1.25 billion US agritourism industry. You-pick pumpkin patches are a main attraction, providing family photo opportunities young mothers love even more than their pumpkin spice lattes. Corn mazes, apple
Seasonal migration isn’t just for the birds. Or the snowbirds heading to Arizona. Some of nature’s most majestic and essential creatures are now making their way southward: butterflies. These winged beauties are prolific pollinators of crops, landscapes, wildflowers and gardens. Three-quarters of all food crops worldwide are somewhat or heavily dependent on pollinators such as butterflies. Monarch
Yesterday was #WorldCottonDay. That’s a fitting title, considering how creating the world’s most popular fabric is truly a world endeavor. Cotton is a crop mostly grown in Asia and the Americas, whose end products are mostly designed in Europe and mostly manufactured in Asia, and largely consumed in the world’s wealthiest countries (the USA accounts
We’re now five weeks away from a national election. The economy, crime, securing the border and foreign policy are top issues for most voters. But what about farmers? For answers, just look at what they value most: family.
Grandpa Fred never saw me. Despite the fact I was at his house nearly every day for over two decades. That’s because he was blind. From a farm accident. An anhydrous hose burst and shot the gas in his eyes.
Today is the 70th anniversary of a cultural icon: the TV Dinner. As a kid, TV dinners were a fun Saturday night treat (my tastes have evolved, thankfully). They were served by mom before my parents went out for the night. This invention literally changed the eating habits of our entire nation: shifting our culinary culture
“They haven’t been farming it as long,” was the response my western Illinois-based Grandpa would offer when confronted with news of success stories coming from the west (a region he defined as across the Mississippi River, less than 50-miles from his farm). I’ve long held a similar belief when it comes to the adoption of non-traditional
Memories awoke recently when I added a Versatile 4WD to my toy tractor collection. It’s a relic of a by-gone era, when thick clouds of smoke bellowed across the Prairies and Plains as steel blades turned the soil. In the 1970s, high horsepower 4WD tractors were all the rage in the Midwest. And our western
Seeing is believing. And I’m convinced the recent WASDE reports on crop production aren’t lying. Over the weekend we took my son to college. Our scenic journey through farm country – beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all – took us deep into the Corn Belt. The projected 2024 corn yield in the Prairie State
Imagine your boss walks into your office, says your productivity is tops in the company, but he’s reducing your salary by 25%. That’s what it’s like being a farmer in 2024. We’re expecting to see the largest year-over-year drop in farm income in history, on the heels of a 19% decline in 2023. Farmers and ag lenders
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