Variable-speed engines power almost all self-propelled vehicles and equipment. The correct engine speed, as revolutions per minute (rpm), will be the best compromise considering economy of operation, emissions, power needed (or speed needed, especially when running PTO-powered implements such as hay balers) and longevity of the engine.

I don’t know what put the idea in my head, but I assume it was one of my father’s stories about making maple syrup as a teenager. Or maybe it was simply that it allowed him to buy a nice car in his teens.

Growing up as a child, my mom told me a number of times how difficult it was during the Great Depression. Her family had a dairy farm but were deeply in debt, and thus had no money. But since they farmed, they grew almost all the food they ate, so in that, they were greatly blessed.

We would all like to think we are smart in our own right. Some of us are smarter at some things and not so smart at other things. I’m pretty good with plumbing projects, but you don’t want me to be your gastroenterologist.

It’s been said the world is filled with dreamers and doers. There are those who dream but don’t do and those who do but don’t dream. A rare find is the individual who both dreams and does.

Each fall, the governor of the great state of South Dakota hosts his Invitational Pheasant Hunt. This is meant to be a way to show off South Dakota’s state bird, their pride and joy, the wily pheasant.

Whether planning to build new or working on a master plan, it can be overwhelming. Each farm sits in a different situation whether it be financial, age, land base, future goals or geographic regions.

I was sitting in a sea of financial planners, beside the Atlantic Ocean in Halifax Harbor, while Anthony Williams delivered his thoughts regarding the huge amount of wealth transferring going on these days.

Dear National Farmers Union members, As you are well aware, a lapse in funding has caused a government shutdown affecting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and several other federal agencies. Among other consequences, this has shuttered the doors of your county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices.

Annual goals, whether outlined at a company’s annual meeting or a personal New Year’s resolution, all have the same challenges. With a full year allotted to accomplish them, the sense of urgency is diminished, and those involved become complacent.