In the rush to cash in on the “organic” buzz, seemingly everything is organic these days. Even stuff that’s always been organic now has “organic” emblazoned across its packaging. Last weekend, I spotted a pallet of organic soil at Home Depot. What?!! I assume the little white fertilizer balls are the only inorganic ingredients added to typical potting soil. Organic Marketing 101: don’t put the fertilizer balls in, slap organic on the bag, and mark…

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A year ago, I was at a crop technology media event. Honestly, I can’t remember if it was a Dow AgroSciences or Monsanto event. I Tweeted about the expected release of either 2,4-D- or dicamba-tolerant soybeans. The first response was from a central Illinois farmer. He said, “Tell them to hurry up. We need this technology now!” Last week the USDA ordered an Environmental Impact Study be conducted on both of these technologies. My colleague Mindy Ward, Missouri…

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With more rain on the way and not a planter to be seen in my neck of the woods, yesterday, I thought “Geez, is anyone planting?”  I took to Twitter and posed that question to Illinois farmers. Judging from the response, it appears I wasn’t the only one wondering. In short, they’re going like gangbusters north of I-80. A lot of them will have logged nearly an entire week of corn planting depending on whether they stayed dry with this latest line of…

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Used to be, you needed a printing press and barrels of ink if you wanted to be heard in this world. Today, you just need an internet connection.  Yesterday, a friend sent me a link to this Reuters’ article that essentially says glyphosate is to blame for every health issue known to man. I surfed around and found the original paper, which was published in a physics journal called Entropy. Say what you will about journalists, but most of us are naturally skeptical. Maybe I…

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Yes, it will be mid-May before most of you are planting corn. Deep breaths. So, what to do in the meantime? Well, you could catch up on routine medical maintenance. Why is it farmers are so good at maintaining equipment, but only go to the doctor if an appendage has literally become detached from the body? I pondered this with a farm wife yesterday. After multiple doctor visits, her fears were confirmed – her husband had skin cancer. Luckily, her persistence meant they were…

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Computers: love em, hate em … eh? Regardless of how you feel, they’re part of everyday life…for the most part. By in large, when folks are conducting a business transaction in person, they still prefer a human cashier. Case in point, the automated cashier lines at grocery stores, lumber yards and the post office are typically ignored by the masses. It’s quite the oddity in a nation where one of the largest retailers (Amazon) doesn’t even have a…

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This spring, chances are you’ll be spending a lot of time in the tractor. I’d wager I’m with most young farmers when I ask, “What in the world did you do before tablets and smartphones?” In all seriousness, this slideshow from Wired has boggled my mind. The article looks at “The 12 Cell Phones That Changed Our World Forever.” The first BlackBerry doesn’t show up until 2003. At this point, savvy Wall Street types were able to be linked…

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April is upon us. It's almost time to leave the artificially-lit conference halls for the sweet smell of freshly-tilled black soil. Before folks get out there, let's reflect on the winter conference season. Perhaps the most notable theme is caution. In March alone, I heard multiple economists warn that ag could be headed for a downturn in 2013. During the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers famland value conference, DuPont economist Steve…

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Last week, I heard the ominous sound of a brake pad’s metal warning tab screeching against the rotor. I pulled off the rear, driver-side tire for a better look. Yep, they were getting thin. But, wait, what’s all this extra stuff? I’ve done a fair number of front brake jobs, but this was my first rodeo on the rear wheels. I called my dad. We chatted and decided I best just bring it down on Easter weekend, when he’d give me a hand (i.e. pretty much do it for…

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After months of debating back and forth, I plunked down $300 for a 32 GB iPhone 5. I just completed my two year contract with Sprint. Throughout much of Illinois, their data coverage is quite slow. Voice coverage is spotty, especially in rural areas. Switching carriers is a necessity, considering how much I'm on rural roads. I signed with Verizon, due in large part to their unmatched 4G LTE coverage across most of Illinois. Now, why am I jumping the Android ship and swimming over…

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