Semi View/More adventures in farm living: The calf in the bathtub (06/17/08)
You don't have to live on a farm to enjoy one of the surest signs of spring -- baby calves. Just driving by a farm on a freeway, highway or gravel road, one can almost always see a baby calf or two, tails straight in the air, ears perked up, running away as fast as they can after seeing a car or truck approach...

Semi View/Cows Working Us Day! (05/27/08)
This morning on the farm we "worked the cows." Or so we've always called it. For those that don't know, it's when you get the vet out, and spend three hours getting 40 cows and 50 calves (did I count that right?) into a chute to get their yearly vaccinations and fly tags...

Semi View/Hard-working FFA students have bright futures ahead (05/13/08)
Experts often say that when you "catch" your children doing something good, you should praise them right then. They say that's better than scolding them for doing something wrong. Well, I agree, and this past two weeks I caught about 400 Saline County high school students doing something "good" at the Sweet Springs, Malta Bend, Slater and Marshall FFA banquets...

Semi View/Weather: The farmer's ever-present worry (05/06/08)
Weather. As a kid, I never worried about it, unless it rained when I wanted to swim or play outside. Of course, like any other kid, weather was important when it snowed -- and I got out of school. Other than that, I really didn't care. My children never had that luxury. No at our house, it is a rule -- no make that a law: There is no talking, crying, sneezing, coughing or even heavy breathing during the weather report...

Semi View/A watched field never dries (04/23/08)
It's "hurry up and wait" time at the farm. "Hurry up" because we (and every farmer in our county) want to get the corn planted. "And wait" because it is too wet to get in our fields. It seems like we go through this at least once a year -- sometimes at planting and sometimes at harvest. ...

Semi View/'King Corn' is propaganda -- and it's personal (04/08/08)
I often hear people say "it's a small world." But I really don't think about it much until "that small world" comes right into my life -- and in this case my heart. Almost seven years ago, two young men, graduates of Yale University, stopped by and spent the night at our farm...

Semi View/Is ethanol to blame for your high grocery bill? (03/25/08)
Food vs. fuel. The Great Debate. Recently, someone wrote on the Democrat-News Web site's Speak Out section that ethanol was the reason that food prices have risen. Well, as an agriculture writer and family farmer I was unable to let that misinformation be the last word on "my" own website...

Semi View/'Women in Agriculture' -- You know who you are (03/11/08)
The Fifth Annual Women in Agriculture and Ag Landowner's Conference is set for this Friday, March 14 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Marshall. (More information is on page 6) While "ag landowner" is easy enough to define, some women may ask, "If I'm married to a farmer, work an off-farm job and don't help in the farm's day-to-day operation, am I still a "Woman in Agriculture?"...

Semi View/The cow who stole Christmas (02/26/08)
Anybody who has ever traveled with a farmer (or maybe it's just men in particular) knows how hard it is to get him to leave home to go somewhere -- anywhere. After all, they have everything they want at home -- a comfy chair, a television and three square meals a day. Not to mention their business, pickup truck, cows, etc...

Semi View/Don't scoff at old sayings; They got old for a reason (02/12/08)
In typical Missouri weather fashion, just three days after a five-inch snow, we had a large thunderstorm at our house on Superbowl Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. The loud claps of thunder, lightning shots and marble-sized hail lasted for almost an hour. But it was the first clap that really got my attention, because that little voice in my head reminded me (after the house stopped shaking), "Thunder in February, frost in May."...

Semi View/Communication gap on the farm (01/29/08)
I didn't notice it at first, even though now looking back, I see there were signs. I mean, it was bad enough when my husband and his friends used that kind of language. But they were away from me, away from "polite company" and it didn't seem to hurt anything. But now I realize it's not just my husband, but my two sons as well. And now it's too late to stop it...

Semi View/Farming has changed but farmers remain the same (01/22/08)
"What is a Farmer?" -- Author unknown "A farmer is a paradox -- he is an overall executive with his home his office; a scientist using fertilizer attachments; a purchasing agent in an old straw hat; a personnel director with grease under his fingernails; a dietitian with a passion for alfalfa, aminos and antibiotics; a production expert with a surplus and a manager battling a price-cost squeeze. He manages more capital than most businessmen in town...

Semi View/Winter brings brief window of 'normality' for farm families (01/15/08)
It's been a little over two years since I've been the agriculture reporter for The Democrat-News, working part-time out of my home trying to bring to light some of the people and events in our county that help contribute millions of dollars to our local economy. The rest of the time I am a farmer, farm wife, hired hand, truck driver and of course a taxi driving mom to a teenage boy...