Centuries before Saint Valentine was marrying couples in ancient Rome, legend says the red rose sprouted from the ground, watered by Aphrodite’s tears and her lover Adonis’ blood. Throughout the ages, the quintessential red rose has been a symbol of love, but have you wondered where it comes from? Most rose production is centralized in
Farmers grow food. That’s a simple and straight-forward premise. Or is it? We continue to shake our heads at survey results that reveal many consumers think their food comes from the grocery store. But what about the industry itself? If we’re being totally honest, we should ask: are we largely focused on growing food, or producing commodities?
Shopping with a farmer can be quite the experience. It’s one my mother refused to partake in during her entire 40-year marriage. This weekend, I went with my wife to exchange a pair of blue jeans that Santa brought me. As we were looking for my size, a clerk at Boot Barn suggested a different
Oilseeds are now a lightning rod. America’s top ag export, accounting for over $40 billion, is at the center of a heated debate on the state of America’s health. The appointment of RFK Jr. to head Health and Human Services will do nothing to ground the conversation. He’s been outspoken in his view of how seed oils
New Year’s babies bring a renewed spirit of hope to those whose lives they touch. On January 1, 1865, a baby born in Diamond, Missouri, not only brought hope, but salvation to US agriculture. His name was George Washington Carver.
In the highlands of Guatemala, near the capital, is a small stronghold for berries. Strawberry production in Guatemala covers about 3,000 hectares in total, yet it yields nearly 14,000 tons of fresh strawberries annually, with 7,000 tons exported to neighboring countries. During my previous visits to Guatemala, I often passed by local strawberry farms, which
The greatest event in history took place at a farm setting, in a stable. The first to bear its witness were farmers, the shepherds. Merely coincidences? I think not. Here’s wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!
Fans of the animated Christmas classic “The Year Without a Santa Claus” will undoubtedly recall Heat Miser and Snow Miser, the bickering siblings who controlled weather patterns. Their outright refusal to cooperate with one another forced Mrs. Claus to go over their heads and see Mother Nature when she desperately needed snow to fall in
On Thursday we celebrate #WorldSoilDay. Along with water, soil is Earth’s most precious resource. That’s because 95% of our food comes from soil. The importance of nurturing soil can be traced back to Biblical times. Jesus himself spoke of the importance of seeds falling on good soil. While soil health has become a buzzword in today’s
Is ROI still king? Return on investment has long been the primary measure for evaluating product purchase decisions by farmers. The concept seems straightforward: a product delivers x amount more of yield or weight, you multiply the additional yield by the price you receive for your crop, then subtract the cost of the product. That’s how
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