On his way out the door last month, former House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, just off a hammering reelection defeat, offered the na…
As farmers, we know we are part of a bigger story. We are caretakers of the land for a time, following in the footsteps of generations before …
Like any schoolboy, I was both giddy and awed when I walked into the U.S. Capitol for the first time. Here Abraham Lincoln walked and John Ken…
Time is running out for our family-sized dairy farms. However, the Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act is now resurfacing once again, and t…
A new year brings new hope, and there are plenty of reasons for hope in dairy as 2021 begins.
While 2021 is not 2009, it’s easy to see how some Americans — and, in fact, many farmers and ranchers — might get confused.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day was wonderfully different than every other week of the year on the southern Illinois dairy farm …
Winter is a season to celebrate, although some lifelong Wisconsinites may disagree because of the snow and freezing temperatures. The change o…
We live in challenging times, and these days it can feel like we disagree more often than not. There are, however, at least two things that mo…
The last column of the year usually features comments from readers whose views differ from those found here the previous 50 or so weeks. Most …
My little one asked sincerely last night
The Christmas tree was a scrub cedar hacked from the edge of the woods that bordered the farm. Big-bulbed lights, strung in barber pole fashio…
Changes are coming to U.S. trade policy, but it is too early to tell if we should expect dramatic waves or subtle ripples during the next four years.
In early 1999, I wrote a column about lions and gazelles.
The Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association was founded in 1910 to represent local telephone companies offering voice service. More tha…
It’s a challenge to find one person with the combined skills of a farmer, rancher, forester, food aid administrator, tribal leader, attorney, …
As I reflect on the coming holiday season, I know this Thanksgiving was different for most this year, including my own family. Celebrations co…
Three events on consecutive mid-November days show farmers, ranchers, and all Americans where U.S. agriculture now is.
The deadline to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage for the 2021 program year is fast-approaching. Dairy producers have until Friday, Dec. 11, 202…
Rural people often reminisce by years. The general rule for any talk about “good” or “bad” years is that good years rarely merit as much menti…
One of the perennial certainties of any election season is how pundits chew over the politics of losing campaigns rather than discuss the poli…
A close reading of policy statements from dairy producers will reveal one word that keeps popping up: bipartisan.
As political winners joust over election spoils, many Americans are tickled pink (or purple) to leave the costliest, most bitter campaign seas…
Farmers across the political spectrum say they would rather get a fair price from the marketplace than rely on government subsidies. Despite t…
Despite the challenges we faced, 2020 was a record-breaking year for USDA Rural Development and therefore it has been a monumental year for th…
The difference between arithmetic and mathematics is roughly the difference between beef stew and boeuf bourguignon. The former satisfies an a…
Ten or so years ago a friend asked if I would help him move a gun safe from his garage to his basement. I agreed not knowing what I was in for.
It is no surprise to any dairy farmer reading this that the past five years have been a challenge. The past seven and a half months, however, …