A closer look at farmland values

The mild winter affected U.S. farmland values only mildly. Summer, however, may cool ‘em. According to the much-followed Seventh Federal Reserve District quarterly land survey — a poll across 219 ag bankers in Iowa, Michigan, the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin and the northern two-thirds of Illinois and Indiana — first-quarter 2013 land values in the

House and Senate ag committees take action on new farm bill

WASHINGTON — The House and Senate Agriculture committees have both announced new versions of the farm bill they plan to revisit in coming weeks, with the potential for full congressional consideration over summer. As of Monday, May 13, the Senate had scheduled its markup of the bill for May 14, while the House planned to

Visionary genius, short-sighted fools

Last October, several University of Illinois alums sent a letter “to encourage [me] to … join [them] by making a contribution to a scholarship fund that has a personal meaning to you.” College cost What, I toss a pebble-sized check into the Big U’s pond and that “C” in Math 111 nearly 40 years ago

Numbers, what they really mean?

Since figures backstop fact, numbers are the meat and potatoes and forks and knives of journalism. They are, in a word, beautiful, and, like true beauty, they can take your breath away. For example, in the faint light of early Aug. 10, my daily newspaper reported that Tom Laughlin would mark his 81st birthday that

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, a young boy decided he wanted to pursue higher education in order to emulate the physician who cared for him. There were no visions of bags filled with gold along his path, only the simple thought, “I can help.”

Bird count might explain lack of blue jays, juncos

With more than a month until April arrives, it may be premature to proclaim the end of winter. But since it never arrived, why not? So far this winter I’ve seen less than six inches of snow, and temperatures have been incredibly mild. Only twice has my thermometer dipped to 10 degrees. We did have

Are higher corn and soybean prices the ‘new normal’ in the commodity market?

Have commodity prices reached a plateau yet?

Lack of internal controls could present problems for cattle industry

You know it’s gonna’ be a bad day when you open your e-mail and see that day’s New York Times’ sports your picture pleading over why your organization… well, here’s how the Aug. 2 Times explains it: “An influential cattle industry group misused money raised from ranchers and farmers for promoting beef sales and violated

Business profile: Lamb and webster

Pennsylvania business brings together farm technology and service By KRISTY FOSTER kfoster@farmanddairy.com GROVE CITY, Pa. — A Pennsylvania tractor and implement dealer may have only been at the location for a year but it brings a lot of history and dedication to technology. Lamb and Webster began in 1960 with its first location in Springville,

Got Ethics? U.S. dairy industry: ‘Yes, we do.’

WOOSTER, Ohio — After experiencing one of the worst years for milk prices, dairy farmers across the nation were served yet another forceful blow just a few weeks into the new year. On Jan. 26, ABC and some of the biggest names in animal rights groups revealed undercover videos showing dairy cattle being dehorned, tails