Many beef producers use a bull to make sure calves are hitting the ground. However, artificial insemination is a viable option for farmers and ranchers.

Rural America is the backbone of our nation. It is where family values are based, where respect and responsibility are grown and where future leaders are developed.

Your body is not a machine. You are not serving yourself or others well by being a workaholic. When are you going to pay attention to your physical, emotional and mental needs, and those of your spouse and family?

Leading any business is extremely challenging. If the business is a family business, the level of difficulty is increased, and if you intend for it to be a multigenerational business, the difficulty is even greater still.

Heim’s Hillcrest Dairy in Wisconsin has created a welcoming team culture with low employee turnover. Since the farm started in 1963, it has grown from less than 100 cows to more than 800. Today, members of the second, third and fourth generations work on the dairy.

Jon and Julie Patterson are the sixth generation to own and operate Patterson Farms Inc. Their dairy farm is in the heart of the Finger Lakes in Cayuga County, New York where they milk 1,800 cows and crop over 3,000 acres.

Some farms have a “safety-third policy” when it comes to operating farm equipment. This lackadaisical attitude starts when the 10-year-old is driving the farm four-wheeler at break-neck speeds through muddy fields and skidding around the corner.

Most family farm and ranch owners hope that their operation will continue into the next generation. However, accomplishing this goal doesn’t just happen on its own. A well-drafted estate plan is essential, especially for agricultural operations.

Have you seen those quizzes that are supposed to prepare you for parenthood? The idea is to get people thinking about how their lives will change once they have a child. These quizzes make me laugh because there really isn’t anything that can prepare you for it.