One of the most difficult decisions dairy producers face is whether or not current milk futures prices are “good” prices. The first problem is: What is a definition of “good”? Frankly, producers look at a “good” price as one that is “high.” So that naturally brings on another question: What is a “high” milk price? That leads to another question: Is the price “high” enough to be profitable?

Drought devastates U.S. Corn Belt Extreme to severe drought conditions blanket much of the country by the end of June, with more than 50 percent of the corn crop in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee rated as “poor” to “very poor.” By August, the USDA stepped in to offer assistance to 1,628 unduplicated counties across 33 states designated as disaster areas – 1,496 due to drought. The worst U.S. drought in the last 50 years left a profound impact on American agriculture. With skyrocketing costs for livestock feed and other inputs, dairy producers are losing about 32 cents on every gallon of milk, according to the USDA.

Christmas had always been different for Christina and Albert Ross. They had no aunts, no uncles and no cousins to come and bring them gifts. All they had was their mother. Yet Albert and Christina did have a grandmother. She lived on a ranch out in Oregon, thousands of miles away. They never expected to see her. However, they knew she loved and cared for them.

HOW WE MET: It all started when I heard some sort of clatter out on my lawn last year. Springing from my bed and grabbing my eight-iron (I’ve never trusted my nine-iron), I tiptoed down the stairs to catch what I thought was an intruder rustling around in my living room. Imagine my surprise to find the Jolly Old Elf himself putting goodies under the Christmas tree. I offered him some homemade chocolate chip cookies and he was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions.

As I write this, it is late October. The air is crisp here in southern Idaho. The leaves are waterfalls of color in the backyard and the last of the corn is being harvested to the hum of silage trucks and a bright yellow combine.