Is it just me or have we suddenly moved into a world of daily recalls? It seems like they keep coming faster and faster and some of them, well, I have to wonder exactly why we're bothering. The latest I got involves a batch of baby formula that had an accidental blending issue that means it has just a hair less protein than the label says it does. It's not unhealthy, mind you. It's a tad short of U.S. recommendations, but meets World Health Organization standards. It certainly won't make…

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Two years ago, my father shared a simple lawn care tip with me: set the deck near the top and leave the grass a little longer.   Of course, I couldn't see how that made any sense. I wanted my lawn to look like a golf course fairway. Plus, if I cut it shorter, doesn't that mean I can wait longer between mowing?   Well, he was right, as always. Near the end of the year, I had crabgrass, clover and every other type of weed creeping across my lawn. I tried fertilizers, herbicides, lime, etc…

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All my life, everyone has told me that the older you get, the younger the kids you come in contact with look. I was thinking maybe I was escaping because my grandchildren (whom I have to admit I see almost every day) appear to be growing at a normal pace. I even find myself now and then saying "I'll be glad when he/she can....." But tonight I attended the annual Kansas Junior Livestock Show and I realized that these kids are so, well....young. The exhibitor of the Grand Champion Steer…

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Visitors to the Texas State Fair last week got a surprise when Ford rolled out the new Super Duty truck series for 2011. As reported in the September print edition of Farmer Iron, Ford mentioned the company would be making a pretty big announcement in the area of pickups and engine technology. They weren't kidding. What they've rolled out is two new engines that are not only packed with high-tech features, but both the gas and diesel versions are biofuel friendly. First up is the new diesel…

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Who says fertilizer and pesticide meetings have to be dull. You know, the ones where you get credit toward your pesticide licensing- the ones where speakers typically turn off the lights, show power points, and the audience is supposed to soak it up. Well, if that's your idea of a typical meeting, you haven't been to one of Fred Whitford's pesticide training meetings.   This breath of fresh air drifted into Indiana from Louisiana many years ago, where he claims he worked on the regulatory…

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There was an interesting bit of news out of Husker Harvest Days last week. The Nebraska Farmers Union was working to get visitors at the show to sign a petition aimed at asking combine makers to bring back the Class IV combine. As farms have gotten bigger, the smallest combine available in the U.S. these days is a Class V. I compliment the association for its enthusiasm for the idea, and wish them well in their effort. Major equipment makers are good at scoping out strong market potential and…

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A year ago the howling winds of Hurricane Ike swept through the Farm Science Review grounds in Madison County destroying the majority of the tents that awaited the opening of the annual farm show.  A Herculean effort by the staff and the suppliers restored almost all of the canvas by the time the show as ready to start. As the crowd arrived, one last vision of the storm lingered in the form of the circus-sized vice president’s tent, which was shredded and hung on its poles like the torn sheets…

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Every few years, agriculture generates a new set of buzzwords. Ten years ago, we spoke of value added and identity preserved. Today, it’s sustainable and factory farming. But the problem with today’s buzzwords are that they’re used and defined and nuanced by folks with an agenda. What’s not sustainable? Anything bigger than me. What’s a factory farm? Anything bigger than me.   It reminds me a bit of a story package we did several years ago, back when the 2002 Farm Bill was up for debate. The…

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I have to admit it. I always hate the end of the first weekend of the Fair because most of the 4-H kids go away. But I really, really hate the last day. Just because it is over. I remember being a kid and how GLAD I was that the Fair was finally over. But then, it was WORK. Now, it's like the Fair is a mirror of life, racing by so fast that I can't quite grab it before it's gone. Am I the only old person out there who thinks the days and the weeks seem to go faster and faster and the…

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Sometimes seeing an old friend and reliving some of the times you shared together in an earlier day can really pump you up. I feel that way after seeing Quentin Williamson at the Purdue University Forage Day near Cambridge City last week. Chatting with him for a few minutes and recalling former times together made the trip worthwhile, even if I hadn't snapped nay pictures or taken any notes. I did those things, and they will show up on the Web site and in Indiana Prairie Farmer in due time. But…

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I’ve spent the last couple days at Husker Harvest Days helping out my colleagues at the Nebraska Farmer cover the event, which is hosted by the magazine.   Husker Harvest Days bigger than the shows in the Dakotas. But when people learned I was from the Dakotas, they knew about Dakota Fest and Big Iron.   My biggest impression from Husker: The corn is brown in Nebraska! It is still green in much of the Dakotas. Soybean harvest is expected to start in central Nebraska in a couple weeks on…

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Just what the heck is going on with the farm equipment business? Plant closures, worker layoffs, lowered earnings expectations are all hitting the news these days. Truth is, this is just another part of the long equipment cycle that's been around since the first plow turned earth back in the early 1700s (thanks Jethro Tull). Market up and downswings that hit your own farm definitely hit the equipment business. And each time the players get smarter. While the big machinery firms have been…

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One of my favorite things about farm shows is watching what people get excited about. For the last couple of days, I've been walking the show at Husker Harvest Days looking for who has what nifty new products. But I can't help stopping to see what has everybody's attention when I see a group gathered around one particular tent. GPS-guided anything gets attention, along with better grain drying and storage systems, and the latest in welding and cutting equipment. The crowds also…

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Not every change termed as progressive is beneficial. While that certainly applies to politics, it also fits farming – particularly dairy farming.   Dairy farmers are getting all kinds of advice today how to make their cows work harder to help them blacken the cash flow bottom line. But as I started looking at Northeast dairy farm financials several months ago, the lack of profitability didn’t appear to be just a milk price problem.   You’re right. I have no claim to being a dairy expert…

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I'm prejudiced, as I've said here in the past, but Husker Harvest Days is a favorite show of mine. Sadly, a scheduling conflict is taking me away from this year's big event which runs Tuesday, Sept. 15 through Thursday, Sept. 17. However, I give this show one of my highest recommendations. Farmers line up to see corn harvesting demos at Husker Harvest Days; these are from the 2008 show. First, you'll see equipment here you'll not see anywhere else. The irrigation focus of this show is…

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News flash for Bryan Walsh, Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan: you are not Upton Sinclair and your work is nothing like "The Jungle."   Let me explain.   It seems each time an author, such as the three aforementioned folks, pens an article or book that is critical of the modern food industry, critics, readers and bloggers who support the work rush to compare it to "The Jungle."   Case in point: "And although there's no doubt Walsh owes his knowledge to the masters who came before him…

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In two separate conference calls Saturday, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsak and other experts at USDA pleaded with media representatives to adopt the H1N1 name for all references to the pandemic influenza now moving through the U.S. population. Citing damage already done to the pork industry, the officials are urging the reference to the human virus not include the "swine" label. From the call that I was on, it appeared that most reporters are willing to comply, but I somewhat cyncially note that…

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It was soggy and almost chilly at the AT&T Arena at the Kansas State Fair Saturday morning. But the verbage from the podium was hot as Sen. Sam Brownback and Congressmen Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt talked health care reform and cap and trade during the annual WIBW National Issues Farm Forum. All three of the legislators are seeking new jobs next election. Brownback is running for governor. Moran and Tiahrt will be primary opponent in the race for his Senate seat. Moran answered one…

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The coolest one-day field day I've been to lately was sponsored by Michelin Tires and held at the Purdue University Animal Sciences Research Farm near Montmorenci last week. It was refreshing to see someone put their product where their money is, and try a live demonstration, even if the results didn't come out exactly like they had hoped.   "We're live and you never know what's going to happen," Bob Rees of Michelin said at the start of the day. He later acknowledged those words proved to be…

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The Association of Equipment Manufacturers released its report on equipment sales this week for August, and there are a lot of negative numbers buried in those statistics. Coming off one of the best Farm Progress Shows in recent memory, that does create a kind of disconnect, until you talk to a few folks. First a look at the numbers showing that row crop tractor sales are off 38.8% in year-over-year trading - these are tractors over 100 horsepower. That decline is steep compared to a…

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Grain elevators across Kansas have a problem this fall as the combines get ready to roll for what looks to be a record fall harvest. The elevators are full of wheat. The terminals are too. Faced with lower than break-even prices, farmers haven't sold their wheat. They are holding on, hoping that dwindling supplies will push prices upward or that a recovering world economy will spur export sales. But that leaves no place to put the corn, soybeans and milo about to start pouring in to local…

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This weekend, my neighbor and I were commiserating over the seemingly slow economic recovery. John’s acute business savvy and race-track mentality contrasts with my “why lose money betting” mentality – and serves him well.   We poked at each other over why some flourish even in a recessinary economy while others fail. We agreed that success has much to do with attitude and much less to do with luck. (Luck is made by attitude.)   His main point: “Now is not a good time” is a popular clich…

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The last day of the Farm Progress Show is usually a day we can kick back as editors. We find new products galore the first two days and use the final day to see the show ourselves. It turned out to be an interesting day indeed for me this year.   Driving into the show I heard a radio report on a station carrying some ag reports - don’t ask me what station - it was one of the few I could get country music on in Decatur, Ill., believe it or not, I heard that ‘the Environmental Protection Agency…

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In September’s American Ag, we reported that much of the Northeast badly needed at least a couple weeks of warm, sunny weather. And the last couple weeks of warm sunny weather have been a God-send to just about all farmers, not just those “reving” their silage chopper engines. That’s the bottom line of roadside conversations I’ve had with farmers while road-running for the magazine.   Farmers in Vermont and Massachusetts tell us that their crop progress for corn and vegetables are still…

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With the Farm Progress Show wrapping up on the last day, I've realized something very important. Weather makes a big difference!   Each year, the show is lined with exhibitors. All of which are rolling out new products or upgraded versions. The grounds are always expertly manicured and traffic flow is becoming a fine science at the permanent sites.   However, each year, the weather is the one thing the show staff cannot control (at least to my knowledge). Last year around this time, I was…

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What goes around comes around I guess. At one time in the old International Harvester days the company had a line of go-anywhere vehicles called the Scout - and later the Scout II. These Jeep-like vehicles were popular for a time, then left the market. It's a big of history in the auto business - and perhaps in the unwinding of a major corporation as well. However, right below is a look at the original Scout from an old ad photo from IH. The International Harvester Scout was produced from…

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From Grand Forks, N.D., to Okoboji, Iowa, farmers are worried about corn maturing before the first hard freeze.   In the northern Red River Valley, some growers wish that they could work up cornfields now because the corn tasseled so late. But federal crop says no, that they have to wait so actual yields can be determined.   If they could work up the late corn now they might get the have a chance to get fields ready for next year. If they have to wait, it could start raining and that would…

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