Semi View: Are things always getting worse or do we just think so? (01/07/09)
When I wrote my first column in January 2008 I had no idea what the year would bring. As we begin this year, it seems we are facing new challenges, ones we didn't even imagine a year ago. I admit I worry a lot about what the future holds. However, a book I have been reading recently has helped me realize that from year to year and decade to decade, the things we face as individuals and as a country haven't changed as much as we may think...

Semi View: Clothing never a problem for farmers: Ag tsotchkes abound (12/16/08)
My son recently purchased a T-shirt that states: "NAKED & HUNGRY: Where you would be without Agriculture!" It's so true, but it got me to thinking. (Very dangerous, I realize!) I'm pretty sure if my two sons and husband weren't in agriculture they would be naked, or at least shirtless and cap-less. And they would never have a pen, a pocketknife, a rain gauge or a ... well lots of things...

Semi View: Century Farm stories provide look at history, hope for future (12/02/08)
On Nov. 14, the Saline County Extension Council and Saline County Commission honored the latest Century Farms in our county. This year, there were 16 new farms recognized that have been in the same family for 100 years or more. Once again, our county had the most new Century Farms in the state and leads in the total number of Century Farms...

Semi View: As harvest winds down, a look back at a soggy year (11/18/08)
In my first "Semi-View" column last January, I wrote about the upcoming crop year and the fact that for a few months, "our next crop can be perfect. We don't know if it will be dry or wet, early or late, or whether the seed stand will be good or bad." And for two months, we can dream 2008 will be the perfect farming year."...

Semi View: The other colors of autumn (11/04/08)
Ah, the colors of fall are everywhere -- red, yellow, green, blue, teal, purple, silver, white and black. You see the colors in driveways, on the roads and especially at the elevator. What? Oh, I'm not talking about the leaves; I'm talking about the grain trucks...

Semi View: Tall tales and yield totals (10/22/08)
My mother-in-law has a saying: "The first liar doesn't have a chance." She is usually referring to harvest time when there are many rumors about the different "yields" each farmer is getting with their crops. For those of you who don't know, the "yield" is the amount of bushels a farmer gets from each acre he grows. While there are industry and county averages, the actual yields vary widely from year to year and field to field...

Semi View: Put the housework on hold until the crop comes in (10/07/08)
Dishes are piling up in the sink. Clutter is everywhere. Clean clothes are most likely found in the baskets they came upstairs in, if found at all. Home cooked meals are few and far between, given up for sandwiches and fast food. The yard isn't mowed, the cows are ignored and the pets seem very lonely...

Semi View: Ho hum, it's harvest time (09/23/08)
It's been "hurry up and wait time" again at my house. This time we are waiting for harvest. The only thing is, I'm not in a hurry and I can wait. Unfortunately, at my house, anyway, I'm alone in that thought. "I can't wait for harvest," said my youngest son the other day. And I knew he was telling the truth. He really loves harvest...

Semi View: Court ruling sends chills through ag community (09/09/08)
I usually try to make my columns humorous. However, in the last few weeks, recent events involving agriculture are anything but funny. In fact, I'm worried about the future of family farms in the United States. I'm also worried about the future of anybody that eats in America. (And that's all of us.)...

Semi View: Fight global warming: Teach your cows some manners (08/26/08)
I was reading an article the other day that said cows (and sheep) are apparently the main culprits in causing Global Warming. That's right the "greatest threat." Apparently because cows belch and have gas while chewing their cuds, it is released in the air as methane. According to the articles I've read, apparently methane causes Global Warming faster than carbon dioxide...

Semi View: Confessions of a 'show' mom (08/12/08)
I am really surprised -- and just a little ashamed -- at what I have become. In fact, I wanted to deny it when I was first faced with the label. But after my sister confronted me I had to admit it. Well, they say that the first step to solving the problem is admitting you have one, so I guess I'm at step one...

Save the 'California howdy,' slowing traffic good for economy (07/31/08)
I thought, "What a friendly guy," as I saw the man pass me with his hand hanging out of the window. "He really must want to make sure I see him," I thought. "Do I know him?" And then I saw it. It wasn't a real wave after all -- it was a "one-finger wave" and it wasn't the finger you use when you exclaim your team is "number one."...

Semi View: The mad scramble pays off this week at the county fair (07/15/08)
It's Saline County Fair time That means tomorrow, Wednesday, July 16, at 5:30 p.m., the doors to the Multipurpose Building will open and visitors will be treated to a wonderful display of clothing, crafts, baked goods and country-cured hams among the other exhibits that 4-H and FFA students have made this year...

Semi View/Farming is a game; but which game? (07/01/08)
It was one day a while ago that I heard someone say that farming was "just a game." They said something about it being "a game" where "big boys had big toys." Hmm. And all this time I thought it was a business -- a sometimes-tough business at that. After all, my three farmers work hard all the time and if it was a game, you'd think they would all be having more fun...

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...