The executive committees of the North American Meat Processors Association and the National Meat Association met last week in Washington, DC, for two days to continue working out the logistics of bringing together the two organizations under the banner of the North American Meat Association (NAMA). They agreed everything is on track to complete the consolidation by the target date …

My work is never done around the house. There’s always something to be cleaned or fixed or planted or watered. I told my mother this weekend that’s all I feel like I do is feed and water things around our house, whether it’s the horses, the black kitty, my family, or now our new trees. They completely transform the front …

This past Saturday night was an eventful one. The weather turned bad at about 4 p.m. so I lit the grill and threw on the steaks. At about 5 p.m., our lights started to flicker so I quickly warmed up the extras in the microwave; 10 minutes into our supper, we lost electricity. Thirty minutes later, my mom called with …

“Cows can’t quack…but they can moo,” begins Cows Can’t Quack, the second delightful children’s book written by Dave Reisman. In my esteem, this book is another winner but who am I to judge at my age? No, I will not delve that information, oh faithful reader. However I will admit I found the illustrations (Jason A. Maas) absolutely charming. To really test out …

I’ve lived on both sides of the street, so to speak. I’ve lived in town where my insurance agent loved it because the nearest fire station was only one mile away. That was good for homeowners insurance. I’ve also lived (and still do!) in a rural community where the closest fire department is only five miles away but you have …

This photo really has nothing to do with agriculture other than it features my father-in-law (who is a farmer) and my son (who lives on the farm). But I had to share it. We spent the Easter holiday in western Kansas – an area that is the exact opposite of where we live now in Nebraska. It rarely rains, there …

Our friend Sally has just announced her new business, MustangRed Communications. Go Like her on Facebook. Greetings friends! I’m excited to announce the launch of my new company, MustangRED Communications! MustangRED consists of myself and my large network of agribusiness marketing communications specialists, including graphic designers, Web developers, media experts, trade show exhibit and materials vendors and many others. MustangRED …

Mother Nature has farmers in southeast Nebraska wondering when the earliest date is to get in the fields to plant corn. With 80-degree days for the past couple of weeks it feels like spring has sprung. My tomato and pepper plants are in the garage, 4 inches tall and ready to be transplanted to my garden, but I too am …

I have a fairly short list when it comes to things I’m afraid of. And I don’t mean squeamish, I mean scared. Topping the list is any critter that buzzes – horse flies, wasps, sweat bees, bumblebees, hornets. (I guess if you add those all up, that’s quite a start to the list.) If it’s buzzing, I’m running. And let …

In this post comparing farming “then” to farming “now”, and in honor of the quickly approaching planting season, I interviewed my grandfather about his check-row planter that they used in the ‘30s. Back then, the typical farm size was 80-160 acres and they started planting corn around May 10th. Grandpa says, “We started planting corn when the hedge leaves were …