Dès que l’horloge sonne les 12 coups de minuit, que l’énorme boule descend sur Time Square et que l’année se terminant tire sa référence pour céder sa place à la nouvelle, nous commençons inévitablement à réfléchir à nos résolutions.

Quand vous êtes grand-mère et que vous voyez tout ce qui vous entoure sous un angle plus large, vous regardez la vie avec admiration devant la façon dont votre vous-même plus jeune voyait le monde et vous vous émerveillez devant la myriade de changements qui ont transformé votre esprit et votre cœur pour comprendre ce que signifie être mère.

Récemment, ma mère a élaboré une nouvelle théorie sur les raisons pour lesquelles les agriculteurs acceptent de faire un métier à haut risque qui n’offre qu’une faible rétribution financière tout en requérant beaucoup de travail. 

Quoi qu’il en soit du monde dans lequel nous vivons, il y a un avantage à être en vie à notre époque : voyager est plus facile que jamais. Tous les endroits lointains dont nous entendions parler à la télévision lorsque nous étions enfant sont désormais à portée de main après avoir seulement passé 10 minutes en ligne à acheter un billet d’avion.

Au fil des ans, j’ai rencontré de nombreuses personnes qui ont eu d’une manière ou d’une autre une grande influence, que ce soit sur moi ou sur leurs pairs. Ces personnes, qui ont influencé positivement la vie d’une personne en particulier ou du monde en général qui les entoure, ne réalisent probablement même pas l’impact qu’elles ont eu sur les autres.

J’ai toujours aimé faire du bénévolat. Cela me rend heureuse de pouvoir redonner au suivant et de faire une différence, tout en apprenant de nouvelles choses et en rencontrant de nouvelles personnes.

For a 14-year-old boy, the state fair meant the excitement of a Tim McGraw song, barbeque stains on white t-shirts, girls in miniskirts and (unfortunately) an end to summer.

I’ve heard organization boards throughout the state talk about dwindling farms and thus farmers, and in Idaho, as elsewhere, that is true. However, in Idaho in 2014, the USDA reported there were 24,700 farms. In 2022, they reported 24,400 farms. So in eight years, 300 farms were lost (with an accompanying loss of 200,000 acres). While that is concerning, that is by no means a landslide problem.

We here in Idaho should stop all the anti-California rancor of late. California has in fact a lot to do with Idaho’s economic rise.

It never ceases to amaze me what economists will use to watch economic trends.

Is a prayer sincere if it starts with, “We are so thankful for the moisture we have received, and we know we need every drop of it, and we are not complaining, but maybe in passing you might want to know that we can’t get into the field to do any fieldwork, so uhhh ... just mentioning it in case it affects your eternal plans. Amen.”

People sometimes ask me what it is that I do all day. To be honest, I’d like to know myself. Whatever it is, I’m sure not getting it done, that much I know. Still, I wonder what people imagine I’m up to when they ask that question.

Did you know that farmers don’t need pain medication? When they are as grumpy as @#$%!, it is simply because you are irritating, not because they are in any discomfort whatsoever.

I like to ask David questions I already know the answers to. It’s my own private game of “How Well Do You Know Dave.” I happen to be the world champion, and I score pretty high most of the time, though every once in a while, he’ll throw me a ringer.

I remember when we bred cows based on what traits we needed to improve on. No computer programs or apps on our phone, just a bull book with proven bulls in it and a cow standing in front of us that needed help improving her udder and milk production.

I recently attended a major gathering of dairy farmers, and boy, the conversation wasn’t all that great.

When I was young, the social event of the summer season was the annual Black and White Show. We had many top-name judges – Heffering, Trevena, Stewart and a young man named Lowell.

As World Milk Day is recognized on June 1, may you take stock of where your dairy story began, how far you’ve come and what it truly means to celebrate this life we call dairy farming.

“Exceptions are expensive,” said a dairy producer at a recent conference. This producer was explaining how his farm prefers to use sort gates to pull out cows that need attention after they are milked, as opposed to headlocks where the entire pen of cows is held up to treat those that are the exception.

I write this editorial huddled in a hotel room in front of my A/C unit, seeking respite from the humid convection oven that is Texas in August.

“Just a second. Just be patient,” is a phrase I find myself often repeating to my 2-year-old, and might I add very determined daughter.

Here’s a confession that hopefully doesn’t alienate me too much from you serious cattlemen and women out there: Whenever I get my hands on a sire directory from one of the semen sales companies, I flip straight to the club calf section. 

To me, June is the most hopeful month of summer. If I had a magic eight ball, it would say “Outlook good” in June.

For all my life I’ve handled small square bales of hay to feed to the cattle. It is a lot of work unloading them off of the hay wagon and putting them away in the barn’s haymow.

As we look at the news stories coming in from around the world, we must admit things don’t look good.

Dairy farming during the winter in northern Wisconsin can be very challenging, especially when it’s bitterly cold. Equipment has a harder time working and occasionally can break down. Read how God helped one family with this problem.

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, and it’s a great time to express your love to your sweetheart. It’s also a great time to express your love to your children.

In life, it seems like there is always something. Maybe you’re in the middle of a drought year and it decides to rain only after you cut your hay. Maybe you left the gate open and now your cows are in the neighbor’s yard.

“Ewe lamb up for discussion.” I read on my nightly doom scroll through Facebook. “What does that even mean?” I thought.

Government agencies love to categorize farmers, and they are categorized every which way.

 Family dynamics are hard to begin with. Then throw in a family business. And this family business is a farm.

It’s a Sunday family dinner at the Ramsey household – all the siblings and grandchildren are there, and fortunately for the crew, “a day of rest.”

I suppose I’m spoiled. Too many years dealing with things that will start and run with only air, fuel, spark and enough starting momentum to create the initial compression to make an engine run.

I’m not allowed to name dogs. Over 50 years ago, we were given a border collie cross puppy and I named him “Sour Mash.”

A man’s toolbox should be small enough that he can move it from place to place as needed – but big and awkward enough that his neighbor and his brother-in-law can’t.

Never volunteer. Fellows I’ve known with a military background say that’s the first thing they learn when wearing the uniform. The realities of rural communities, however, are such that without volunteers, not much would happen.

There is a pang of nostalgia as I watch the yellow buses roll around picking up children, dressed in bright autumn colors, carrying backpacks and lunch pails. 

I have accomplished a few major things in my short 70 years, but I still feel like my music is still ringing somewhere in the distant future.

In studying the gospels, I marvel at the wonderful miracles Jesus performed in His ministry on Earth.

Well, it’s the one week out of the year that the Christmas lights on my cousin’s double-wide trailer actually make sense.

I spent a lot of time traveling around this past year, and I need to share some of what I’ve heard and learned along the way.

If you’ve ever had the “soup of the day” at a restaurant, chances are you just ate food that was close to its expiration date. Just like your granny used to, soup is an easy way to use up leftovers.

According to climate alarmists, the world will end in just a few short years. If what they say is true, then why should I continue to pay my mortgage, eat right and visit the dentist? We should all just go on permanent vacation and let the world fall apart around us.

When I passed by the house, taking the haybine, plow or some other equipment from one field to another, I always looked for one thing: if the red flag was down on our mailbox. 

Sometimes I’m tempted by the smell of grease that McDonald’s blows outside its walls. It triggers something inside me as we pass by. It’ll be quick, cheap and familiar, I think. Or, it’s the millions they spent on advertising coming to roost. Regardless, my wife shakes her head.

For the first time ever, the population of rural America shrank in the last census. With the loss of family farms and manufacturing jobs, there is little economic opportunity for those who live there.

Between smartphone addictions and AI that will write your school papers for you, I fear that there’s a generation coming, in which no one reads.

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 45% of the world’s population live in the rural areas of developing countries. As a planet, we’re facing growing challenges, including poverty, food insecurity, climate change and inequality.

The Lord spoke to the heavy hearts
 that stood with hats in hand.
“Your sadness pains me deeply
and I know you’ll miss this man.

My daughter is obsessed with Horton hears a who by Dr. Seuss. In this story Horton the elephant defends the people of Whoville who live on a tiny speck of dust on a small clover.

There are a lot of similarities between putting together a winning team on the dairy and recruiting players for a winning season. Let’s explore some key attributes of winning teams on and off the field.

When I was younger, I loved showing animals at the fair. I’ll admit, I was in it more for the fun than the cattle. Those calves and heifers were essentially my ticket in, so I didn’t mind the morning chores and occasional barn duty shifts.

Imagine you’re locked in a room with a handful of people you work with daily. The only way out is to lean on each other’s capabilities, crack codes and solve riddles leading to the right key that unlocks the exit.

It’s been a minute since I’ve felt patriotic. The good old-fashioned fire in your heart, tear in your eye, sound of a bald eagle screaming in the distance type of patriotic.