It goes without saying that keen eyesight is one of the farmer’s most invaluable tools. Even in the first century, Pliny the Elder stated, “Th…
It was a good bet that as you were in the middle of harvest, you didn’t think a lot about seeding tools, that is, planters and grain drills. S…
Jeff sat in the tractor idling with a grain cart behind him. He was sitting halfway across the field waiting patiently for his son to return w…
My wife and I reside in the Waukee Community School District in Des Moines’ western suburbs. The big news here is that our second high school,…
A few years ago, my wife Marilyn suggested to me that I should write down personal observations that might be useful to others. Her suggestion…
Here in the Midwest, we’ve settled into the land of row crop production. Unknown to many, though, the region offers diverse agricultural produ…
The value in a farm transition planning process is not only identifying issues but also (most importantly) finding solutions that fit your ind…
During a late-August trip through Illinois, Wisconsin and eastern Iowa, I noticed that corn fields were starting their dry-down process. The h…
Those of us who live in agricultural communities are well aware of the hard work farming entails and the sacrifices that are required to susta…
Have you ever had someone tell you that life passes in the wink of an eye? Do you look back at your life and see it in stages? Are there miles…
They say it isn’t bragging if it’s true. The following is true, so I’ll tell my story at the risk of appearing to brag.
Farm show season has begun. Agricultural shows and fairs are up and running again, including one of the largest: the Farm Progress Show which …
Last month, when I visited with several farmers and farm journalists on the telephone and with people who attended a town hall meeting at my l…
One of the things that I love most about my mother is her spunky and always positive outlook on everything she does. She is the most giving an…
Late summer is the season for lots of roadside attractions: fresh sweet corn by the dozen, tomato stands, and tractors out mowing ditches.
There are several new ag tech products for machinery being introduced this summer.
Despite having the highest (overall) standard of living of any previous generation, rates of mental health problems continue to rise in the Un…
The term “compact utility tractor” is certainly appropriate. These smaller-sized units offer the versatility to handle most everyday chores fo…
Yup, it happened again. A few weeks ago my wife was driving our lawn-mower tractor and pulling a cart piled high with weeds and tree branches …
If God had chosen me to be the first man instead of Adam, I would have never fallen for Eve’s “try it, you’ll like it” line. Naked lady or no …
As I write this June 30, the Delta variant mutation first identified in India, has become the fastest-spreading coronavirus variant in the U.S…
In recent days the temperature has been in the 90s where I live. Accordingly, I give thanks daily for my hero, Willis Haviland Carrier, the Am…
There continues to be a growing interest in interseeding cover crops. Depending on your particular farming methods, interseeding a cover crop…
What principles did you learn as a child? Did you find them to be helpful later in life? What things do you want to teach your children?
Imagine you own and operate a business where you have a variety of machines, along with interconnected technologies that operate those machine…
“I got one,” my 7-year-old granddaughter announced a couple Sundays ago while fishing with her dad, her two cousins and me.
In reading through emails from IFT Publications readers this past week, a common theme stood out to me. There were five separate emails that e…