Pivotal Issues Blog

While harvesting a field of irrigated corn, Quentin Connealy noticed something unusual: The dryland corners were outyielding the acres under the pivot. “That’s where it red-flagged for me that something had happened,” said Connealy, who raises corn and soybeans in eastern Nebraska. That field, like so many others, had hidden challenges that didn’t become obvious […]

This week the U.S. Drought Monitor showed drought-stricken areas, from southern Missouri and Arkansas into the northeast U.S., received amounts of 1-2 inches with locally higher amounts in northwestern and southern Arkansas, parts of Tennessee and Kentucky and in eastern New York and southern New England. At the same time, dry weather continued in northern […]

By Leah Douglas and Bo Erickson WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is expected to announce a plan as soon as Tuesday to bail out U.S. farmers stung by trade disputes and big harvests, with the initial outlay potentially totaling up to $15 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. The plan, however, could […]

By: Brooke Bouma Kohlsdorf A sprawling Oklahoma property owned by the same family since the 1940s was sold on May 7, marking the end of an era for a piece of the state’s ranching history. The Hilseweck Ranch, located in the southeast part of the state, was a well-known and unique property, according to the […]

By: C. Robert Haas & Karen Jones Today’s high horsepower, 4-wheel drive, track units, and front-wheel assist have replaced all but memories of the tandem tractor era. This new wave of power came late in the 1950s and early 1960s. My farm life had been interrupted by a two-year stay in the U.S. Army, one […]

By: Myron Friesen Successful Farming‘s ‘Can Their Problem be Solved?’ advice column from farm financial adviser Myron Friesen tackles the question of planning for your retirement, but not your children’s. The Problem My wife and I have worked our tails off all of our lives. We have made it through some miserable times with weather, […]

By: Raylene Nickel When farm pressures mount and one difficulty after another hammers your operation, your stress levels rise. Emotions run ragged. Your business can suffer, and even your health can deteriorate if the stressors are prolonged. Stress and Burnout are Real. “When we are stressed, the cortisol levels in our blood go up and […]

By: Mark McLaughlin A widow wonders if it’s too late to fix an estate plan that made no provisions for their one farming son and isn’t sure how to manage the farmland. Mark McLaughlin weighs in. The Problem My husband recently passed away. Our estate plan is old, but our attorney says it still works. […]

By: Jerry Nelson Farmers often have to defend their crops from pests. While these pests can range from microbes to insects to avians, imagine trying to prevent crop losses when the nuisance in question can tip the scales at 15,000 pounds, might be more than 10 feet tall, and is highly intelligent. This is a […]

By: Jerry Nelson Of all the root crops known to humankind — and I’m including rutabagas and cattail rhizomes here — my favorite is the humble radish. Radishes are a good source of vitamin C, minerals, and bad breath. But their benefits don’t end there. They don’t even begin there. Radishes also provide a fast […]