By Tom Parker After two tours of combat in Iraq, U.S. Army Major Ty Martin was feeling the strain. Though he wasn’t exhibiting clinical symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he was, in his words, “wrapped sort of tight.” This was particularly troubling because his pending retirement from the service gave him qualms [...]
By Tom Parker After two tours of combat in Iraq, U.S. Army Major Ty Martin was feeling the strain. Though he wasn’t exhibiting clinical symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he was, in his words, “wrapped sort of tight.” This was particularly troubling because his pending retirement from the service gave him [...]
By Tom Parker Jay Schwinn was living the American dream as a Merrill Lynch executive when the entire U.S. financial sector imploded in 2008. After being bought out, he called his brother, Joe, asking if he could use a partner on his small vegetable farm outside Leavenworth, Kan. His brother, while apologetic, [...]
By Tom Parker “You can all hear the roadway, right?” asked Josh Smith, manager of Gibbs Road Farm. “It never stops, day or night. That’s a constant reminder that we live in the city.” Smith had to raise his voice to be heard above the roar of a nearby interstate. His audience, [...]
By Tom Parker It’s one thing to sit inside a heated conference room for two days listening to experts, visionaries, politicians and entrepreneurs discuss new farm policies that boost entitlements and profits to big corporate farms while lessening support for family farms, the state’s tempestuous budget and how rural Kansas will bear the [...]
Farmers of all experience levels are invited to hop on the bus and gain a better grasp of the opportunities and challenges of our local food systems. The Kansas Beginning Farmer Bus Tour follows convention and a special beginning farmer rate is available thanks to the Midwest Regional Agency. Learn more and register at KansasFarmersUnion.org [...]
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunities Meeting Scheduled for Nov 20th All beginning farmers and ranchers are invited to a Beginning Farmer & Rancher Opportunities meeting at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, KS, Thursday, November 20, from 4:00 to 9:00 PM, hosted by Kansas Farmers Union and the Kansas Beginning Farmers Coalition. The meeting’s [...]
All beginning farmers and ranchers are invited to a Beginning Farmer & Rancher Opportunities meeting at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, KS, Thursday, November 20, from 4:00 to 9:00 PM, hosted by Kansas Farmers Union and the Kansas Beginning Farmers Coalition. The meeting’s featured speaker is Dan Hromas, owner and operator of Prairie Pride [...]
By Tom Parker, guest writer McPHERSON – People get into farming for a number of reasons, but nobody gets into farming because they love running a business. The business side of farming is often disliked, distrusted and delayed, often with disastrous results, according to Richard Wiswall, author of The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook and co-owner [...]
By Tom Parker, guest writer McPHERSON – Richard Wiswall likes numbers. In that he might be an anomaly among farmers, at least where the numbers are concerned. Some of his numbers involve planting rates and seed inventory, tractor hours, and labor costs-categories most farmers are familiar with-but he takes things a step further-okay, many steps [...]
