As you read this there are combines in the fields or soon will be. Harvest will be well underway. The leaves on the trees will no longer be green but brilliant, reds, oranges or yellows. We may find that in the mornings a coat or sweat shirt may feel quiet comfortable. Yet there is ...
This summer we have been shocked by climate impacts. Massive wildfires caused smoke to pollute our air, crops were affected by drought, and heat waves caused warnings to be issued as we endured the hottest July in 120,000 years. According to the World Weather Attribution team, these events ...
Over the past decade, the farm to school movement has reached millions of students in the United States and its territories. From school gardens and farm field trips to local food on cafeteria trays, farm to school practices help children learn about nutrition and agriculture while also ...
Upland bird hunting seasons generally have opening dates in October set by state governments. I began my actual hunting on October 4 in eastern Montana. But, hunting season for many upland hunters and their bird dogs begins much earlier, when the first glimmers of fall appear. In 2023, this ...
As we enter the fall season I want you to stretch your minds to think back to an episode that took place right after Jesus’ resurrection. We remember two disciples that met a stranger as they were walking on the Road to Emmaus. In their sorrow in knowing that Jesus had died didn’t seem ...
An armadillo was found dead on HWY 63 north of Traer on Sept. 15 of this year. Wait, armadillos in Iowa? Yes, you may get a glimpse of one of these unique critters in our state from time to time. This particular animal either fell from a vehicle or was hit while trying to cross the ...
In a time of intense division in Washington, one thing Republicans and Democrats still agree on is that no child should ever go to bed on an empty stomach. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, helps ensure that does not happen. But, with ...
Fixing fence on our acreage this spring, my husband and I stumbled over something big hidden in the grass at the pasture’s edge. It took our joint effort to pry it up: a large, spoked metal wheel almost four feet across. It was heavy, but once freed, one person could lift and move it ...
WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) are spearheading efforts to determine the impacts of using farmland for both agricultural and energy production. The bipartisan Protecting Future Farmland Act will ...
People who live in the metro areas of Iowa may be unaware, but good citizens who reside in rural Iowa are painfully cognizant local hospitals are in desperate financial condition and losing the fight to remain in operation. The good news, if we can label it as such, is the problem is ...