Single-trait selection is not a good business plan, according to Larry Echols of Gap Mills, West Virginia. Single-trait selection is like shopping for a baseball where the only selection criterion is that “it’s round.” A grapefruit is round too, and that wouldn’t win very many ballgames.

As the piston moves on its first downward stroke, the intake valve opens to allow a mixture of fuel and air to fill the combustion chamber. Once the valve closes and the piston moves upward, the fuel-air mixture is compressed, causing it to combust.

Once again, a federal court has issued an opinion regarding the constitutionality of a farm protection (“ag gag”) statute. This time, it was the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit who upheld part of and struck down part of the Idaho “Interference with Agricultural Production” law.

In October and November, dry conditions persisted in the Southern Plains, stressing pasture and forage supplies and likely directing calves that might have otherwise been placed on pasture into feedlots.

As a group, farmers and ranchers are the hardest-working, highest-quality, most honest people around. They’re also among the poorest financial thinkers.

Many cattle producers rely on direct access to surface waters, despite wanting to fence out riparian areas and protect water quality. There are many reasons for this, but the big one is the cost of creating an alternative water source.

Calving season is upon us, and most of our time is being spent in the barn cleaning pens and checking cows, possibly leaving time to run coveralls through the washing machine once a week.

While rural locations can provide many benefits to those who live there, they can also impose restrictions on personal safety.