Around the Farm – Farm Transitions
Every new year in farming brings changes
Some years those changes are small things, like new products or new hybrids. Some years those changes are a bit bigger like a piece of new machinery. But every once in a while, a new year brings major changes like the year we switched ...
Around the Farm – Strong Roots
Greetings! Since I am a new face in this magazine, I would like to introduce myself.
I was born and raised on a farm in Clare – about eight miles west of Sycamore. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t involved in helping with the cattle and pigs we had ...
Around the Farm – Much to do after harvest
Farmers have a half-joke; the best days of harvest are the day you start and the day it ends. This year that statement rings very true.
We finished harvest just after thanksgiving this year, and it was a challenging year with breakdowns but the yields were pretty good. Even though harvest ...
Around the Farm – Harvest Requires Teamwork
If I could choose one word to describe harvest this year I think I would choose “teamwork.” This year I really relied on a team of people to get harvest finished, especially since I have another job off the farm.
I could make a list of several people that helped out ...
Green Thumb – Growing Garlic
Want to get a head start on planting your vegetable garden for next year? Then garlic is the plant for you!
Garlic (Allium sativum) has been grown for thousands of years as both food and medicine. It has a long growing season which may seem daunting. Fortunately, it is relatively easy ...
Around the Farm – Harvest is Coming
September is always one of the more hectic times of the year here on our farm.
We spend most of the month trying to get ready for harvest, which for us means repairing our combine, preparing the strip-till bar, ordering seed and fertilizer and getting the grain elevator cleaned out ...
Green Thumb – Zinnias
I’m sentimental about zinnias. They are the first flowers I ever grew as a child. My dad dug up a small plot on the south side of our house and showed me how to plant the seeds. I watered them with a sprinkling can. They sprouted fast, grew tall, and ...
Around the Farm – Back to School on the Farm
It’s that time of year when students go back to school to learn and prepare for their future.
This time of year reminds me of all the schooling I have had, and has me wishing that more of that education involved agriculture.
Everything I learned about agriculture I learned outside of the ...
Around the Farm – Crop Scouting & More
If you stop by our farm during the summer, you’re likely to find a flurry of different activities going on during any given day. We planted a little bit late this year due to the cool, wet weather so now we have to play catchup on a lot of the ...
Green Thumb – Happy Houseplants
Keeping houseplants is a source of satisfaction for many. But when plants are not thriving it can be concerning and confusing.
As soon as a leaf yellows or develops a brown spot, many reach for fertilizer or household pesticides, neither of which is an appropriate first response.
Yellowing, brown edges, leaf spots ...