I Got Me a Duke!
In the South, the best hot rodders were usually moonshiners or those that built their cars and engines. The history of NASCAR is a testament to that. I found it very interesting that there were so many Chrysler products on the show and a few AMC models.
Dealing With Alcoholism: How A Farm Family Is Recovering Ten Years Later
This ongoing saga of a farm family dealing with alcoholism began in Farm and Ranch Life articles in October 2013. This is the twelfth report about Dan and Darla (not their real names) and their two children: a 15-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son.
The Dirt Road of My Soul
The human thought process changes little as the pages of the calendar of life flip by. Our DNA is coded to accept what is before our eyes as being as it always was. Subliminally, the elderly person was never young, the kitten would never grow into a cat, and the shopping center was always there.
The Walk of Shame
My parents probably thought they had raised me better. They had tried to give me the decision-making abilities that would prevent such disgrace. For it to happen once or twice is one thing, but after too many times they knew I would get a reputation. Still, I took the Walk of Shame over and over again.
Estate Matters Top the List Of Farm Owners’ Concerns Lately
Passing the farming/ranching operation to successors has become the most pressing issue of callers to agricultural hotlines in the Upper Midwest lately, according to their managers. Farm owners’ worries about fairness to all successors in their estate plans top their list of concerns.
A Hard Row to Hoe
In post-WW II rural America, it was common for almost every family to have some attachment to agriculture. Often the family farm was not large enough to sustain all the financial needs of the entire clan, so an in-town job was acquired. But the lessons and roots of farm life were an intrinsic part of their being.
Remembering the Farm Crisis of the 1980s
It’s often joked that the best attribute of a good farmer is a short memory. There’s truth to such a statement, as the challenges inherent to the act of farming can be frequent and plenty—something gets out, something breaks, something expectedly needs to be paid for. One has to allow the disappointments to roll off their back and continue on.
Lessons From Man’s Best Friend
At four years old, Otto, a German short-haired pointer, already has already achieved a distinguished career as a caretaker that began when he came to the rescue of an unconscious girl who was approximately 10 years old; Otto was only two months old then. Do dogs have a sense that humans lack?
Are You the Singer or the Songwriter?
Shooting from the hip with life’s decisions may be great fodder for Hollywood. But it will put you in the metaphoric ditch of life, tilted to one side and spinning your wheels. Farming requires planning and an examination of where you are headed…
Notes on a Wild Future
Maybe it’s going to become increasingly possible that artificial intelligence takes over the world, and by the time it happens no one will be surprised. Whatever our existence will look like in a few decades, to see it now will likely be just as shocking as the changes our grandfathers saw in their time.
Farmers’ Agrarian Culture Transcends Ideological and Political Differences
This column takes a candid look at what is more important to agricultural producers: their political opinions and ideological beliefs, or their shared purpose as food producers. We begin with some background.
An Appeal to Help Farming Families in Mozambique
Tillers International uses traditional practical skills and historic American farming tools and methods to help small-scale farmers in developing countries where tractors are not an option. Find out more about this non-profit organization, and how you can help support this mission.
Only Dolly Can Save Us Now
I wasn’t there for the assignation of Martin Luther King, the protests against the Vietnam War, or the tragedy of the Kent State shooting. Nor would I know how the events America has experienced recently compare to those instances in history. Still, it can’t help but feel like we’re living in this generation’s dark moment.
The Road Less Traveled: How I Love My America
My parents believed that it was essential for us to take an automobile trip each summer. They wanted to make sure my sister and I experienced America. Our main destination was never a man-made attraction – there were exceptions, but they had to be educational or a national treasure.
Five Tips to Help Pollinators Thrive
June 21-27 is National Pollinator Week, but it’s certainly going to take more than a week to show our gratitude to these priceless creatures. That’s why USDA is offering 5 tips you can include in your daily land management activities as part of the solution to combat their decline.
Fishing With Kids is Good For Perspective About a Lot of Things
It doesn’t matter if not everyone enjoys catching and eating fish. What does matter is that we pass along life-long bonding experiences with the next generation and engender respect for maintaining a healthy environment.
Wilson Rawls and the Story We All Know
Like in many schools, “Where the Red Fern Grows” (1961) by Wilson Rawls was required fifth-grade reading. Even though it was set more than a thousand miles away and several generations before my time, it was one of the earliest novels that I could relate to.
Caught Between Yesterday and Tomorrow
If you are familiar with any of my writings, you can quickly glean that I have been a dreamer my entire life. I would have to say my sojourns into an alternative existence began when I was around four years old. Though it has ebbed as the pages of my life unfolded, dreams are still a part of who I am.
![Prodigal Daughter [Q&A with Michael Baron]](https://farmandlivestockdirectory.com/wp-content/uploads/estate-plan-GENERIC-400x250.jpg)
Prodigal Daughter [Q&A with Michael Baron]
The daughter of a farming couple close to their 70s decided to come back to the farm considers giving her and her husband their livestock and machinery to get them started. The couple is also considering a life estate to protect the property should they need long-term care, and ask Michael what considerations they should take.
Agricultural Life Has Connections to Folk Culture
Understanding the culture of agricultural producers and their unique backgrounds is key to acceptable assistance from providers of professional service, whether it’s counseling, business expertise, agronomic advice, or something else.
The Pickton Murders
A lot of horror movies are set on farms. From “The Curse” (1987) to the fright-fest “Invasion of the Blood Farmers” (1972), the isolated settings associated with agriculture have provided useful grounds for such circumstances. In remote backdrops, it is supposed it’s easy for the depravity to go unnoticed.
![Are They Waiting for Us To Die? [Q&A with Michael Baron]](https://farmandlivestockdirectory.com/wp-content/uploads/funeral-flowers-GENERIC-400x250.jpg)
Are They Waiting for Us To Die? [Q&A with Michael Baron]
Some of our in-laws keep coming out to the farm and mentioning what a nice inheritance it will be and how they’ll be able to buy the lake house, etc. These people can’t even get their credit cards sorted out or put any money away themselves.
Sustainable Agriculture/Sustainable Mental Health Networks
In 1991 a panel of representatives of their fields presented their insights about sustainable agriculture and sustainable mental health at an annual association conference. Fast-forward 30 years later, it’s fair to say these networks have evolved significantly.
![Old Lessons, New Challenges [Black Ink®]](https://farmandlivestockdirectory.com/wp-content/uploads/Dust-Bowl-USDA-web-400x250.jpg)
Old Lessons, New Challenges [Black Ink®]
Imagine a life filled with dust. Inhaling, only to choke on dust. Eating it on every scarce bite of food. Seeing a dust outline on the bedding when you wake in the morning. I’ve been reading accounts from the Dirty Thirties, and I don’t know if I’m drawn into the unimaginable awfulness of it all or the amazing hope.
