Locust Hill Dairy takes advantage growth opportunities whenever they can.

"Pa-pa-pa avocado. See, Mom, it starts with P, not with A," says the very sure-of-himself 4-year-old Ethan. "No, bud. Ah-ah-ah avocado. It starts with A," I say, trying to be as reasonable as possible. He insists, "No, my teacher says it starts with a P." He then folds his arms and glares at me.

It’s fall, y’all. A busy time of year for most of us in agriculture. On our place, we’ve got corn to chop and the last cutting of hay to bring in.

At the beginning of September, I had the opportunity to participate in an agricultural tour in Idaho, my home state. When I’ve done these tours in the past, it’s been when I was visiting a new place. I’ve seen megaranches in Florida, carrot farms in Arizona, dairies in Washington and pistachio orchards in California.

Before Ronald Reagan graced the White House as our nation's president, he was well known as a Western movie actor, where he learned to ride horses and take on the guise of a cowboy, a persona he kept for the rest of his career.

For the last few months, I’ve written about what it is like to return to my hometown. This month, I had another bout of déjà vu that pulled me even more tightly into the cocoon of our family farm.