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…

Continue Reading

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…

Continue Reading

God indeed made a farmer. Except, in my case, he didn't. It didn't make the advertisement any less special. Dodge Ram's ad was exemplary because it transcends farming, while reminding the world why it's such a noble profession. Some folks didn't care for the mix of old and new machinery throughout the commercial. I'd argue it reminds viewers that farming has always been an honest, hard life, and it still is. I get to spend a good deal of time on many Illinois…

Continue Reading

Commandeer: officially take possession of something, typically for military purposes. It's a word Hollywood loves to use. The hero lost his car in the heat of the chase? No problem, flash a badge and gun at the closest citizen and shout, "Police officer, I'm commandeering your vehicle." It's an exotic word, but I'd wager many of us are familiar with it in a little different sense. Specifically, I'm talking about "borrowing" tools. Even more…

Continue Reading

In six short days, 2012 will turn into 2013. It should be a seamless transition. The toughest thing will be remembering to date documents with 2013, rather than 2012. Apparently, once you’ve reached 30 and had a couple kids, you start to think of time in a different manner. At 18, I was concerned only with what was happening on the coming weekend. As a family man, planning begins to extend well past the weekend. Car and home loans take years to pay off. I’ve always admired…

Continue Reading

Ah, the Christmas season is upon us. I get to indulge in several guilty pleasures: Christmas movies, festive music and, most hazardous to my waistline, my wife’s cookies. A Christmas Story is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I go back and forth between it and Christmas Vacation as to which is actually my favorite. I can completely relate to little Ralphie’s mania for BB guns. My first BB gun was a Daisy lever-action. It was very similar to the Model 10 on this page. I…

Continue Reading

They say San Diego has the perfect climate. Year round, the mercury hovers in the 70-degree range. Residents brag they keep a light sweater in the car for those slightly chilly mornings. I’ve got news for San Diego, they can keep their perfect weather. I’m not interested. I’m a firm believer in four seasons. Seasons signify a passage of time. In years like this, winter cannot come soon enough. With winter, growing-season wounds begin to heal and spring comes with infinite…

Continue Reading

You know when you think you’re finally getting good at something? Then an expert comes along and shows you just how little you actually know. I was privy to just an experience this weekend at the Ag Media Summit photography workshop. Throughout the daylong experience, there was a lot of learning, shooting and, at the very end, critiquing. Yeah, the end wasn’t as much fun as the rest of the day. Yamaha sponsored the event. They put on a terrific demonstration with their…

Continue Reading

Having returned from a five-day trip with the Illinois Farm Bureau to Cuba, I’m feeling quite thankful to be an American. Yeah, that’s right, it’s a patriotic blog the day before Independence Day. Upon arrival in Havana, the group went to a nice restaurant near the waterfront. As we settled in, I happened to draw a seat next to the interpreter/tour leader, Jesús. He began asking me questions about why I chose journalism as my career. Metaphorically speaking, he may…

Continue Reading

During the summer, life on the prairie gets pretty warm. That big ball of gas is great for growing corn, but it can wreak havoc on a photographer. Here’s a new technique for the farm photography enthusiast. A bright blue sky often produces too many lighting variants for a terrific photo. For example, park the planter on a sunny day and try to take a scenic photo with a nice blue sky in the background. Unless you’re Ken Kashian, you’ll probably end up with a washed out sky…

Continue Reading