By Tom Parker Courtney White and Gail Fuller were talking the same talk but they were coming at it from different backgrounds and different geographical directions, so it was understandable that there should be some minor differences of opinion. That it centered on the sequential order of three little words was all the more remarkable [...]
Bad cows are bad influences, smart cows never forget and other insights into handling cattle for women By Tom Parker Cows are big and beefy and muscular and most women aren’t, so for the latter to manage the former it helps to not only understand how cows think and socialize, but also how cows remember [...]
By Olivia Taylor-Puckett Workshop & Bus Tour focus on Developing Resilient, Productive Ag Land Through Use of Cover Crops and Mycorrhizal Fungi In creating the Mycorrhizal Fungi Connections workshop and Cover Crops in Action bus tour, Kansas Farmers Union hoped to open the eyes of farmers and ranchers to many different means of investing in [...]
In September, Project Director Mary Howell led a six-day, Amazing Grazing road tour across Kansas stopping in Topeka, Salina and Courtland. The three events, featuring Bill Helming and Jim Gerrish, provided a wealth of information for more than 100 attendees – practical information which Mary hopes all livestock ranchers will ponder considering the predicted drop [...]
By Mary Howell One hundred twenty-five people from seven countries and seventeen states gathered in Emporia for the two day workshop focusing on soil health. Attendees were treated to two of the leading authorities on soil health and cover crops, Dr. Christine Jones, Australian Soil Scientist, and Gabe Brown, North Dakota Farmer/Rancher. It was an [...]
Eastern Kansas farmers should rethink tall fescue for grazing, agronomist says By Tom Parker Okay, so tall fescue has a bad rap. It has, shall we say, a checkered reputation. And for good reason, too. The cool-season forage could be a livestock producer’s best friend or it could be a killer—literally—depending on circumstances. Sure, it [...]
By Tom Parker Listening to economist Bill Helming talk forecasts and demographic changes and economic trends and growth rates and market shares and income streams and—above all—fractions and whole numbers and percentages is a lot like getting tossed into a commercial clothes dryer set to permanent press. At first the momentum is dizzying as you [...]
By Mary Howell The Cover Crop Bus Tour will compliment the information covered Friday in Salina with actual examples in field of many varieties of grasses, legumes and cover crops. Various cropping and grazing practices will also be featured. The focus of the workshop both days will be how to improve soil health, increase soil [...]
By Tom Parker Since the inception of the computing era, a simple acronym evolved to become an icon of visual acuity and perception: WYSIWYG. The concept works for tangible objects as well as for digital data, but not so much for agricultural purposes. What-you-see-is-what-you-get might be fine for digital publishing or Web site creation, but [...]
To RSVP for one of the five regional pasture walks, click here! By Tom Parker A typical Kansas pasture on a typical Kansas farm or ranch is a highly complex, species-rich ecosystem that can either be beneficial or detrimental to the producer. Differentiating between the two can be tricky, often involving experimentation as much as [...]
