Commentary

Rebecca Miller finds that the best laid plans are just waiting for a flock of sheep, a steer, a livestock guardian dog named Houdini and a donkey named Sarah to come barreling through and smash them to smithereens.

We often don’t think about the stress limited rural broadband access puts on us. But how does it affect us? How is it impacting our future? Something needs to give. We, as a society, need to do better for rural communities.

When it comes to limited rural broadband access, everyone has a story. That’s what we need to keep in mind with this discussion.

Farmers are told to share our stories, because the divide between people and where their food comes from is growing by the day. The internet is the quickest way to do that, because most of the people who need to hear our stories don’t live next door. But if we can’t get reliable access, how do we reach them?

Surfers are making wool surfboards. Why stop there? Plastic revolutionized society, but renewable, natural materials could lead the next wave.

The American sheep industry is at a crossroads. Those who grow lamb, in particular, have to adapt to changing times or be left behind. It’s a conundrum that should resonate with anyone in agriculture. People want to know where food comes from and how it came to be. That’s not going anywhere. We should care anyway, because we are stewards of one of the most important things on the planet: our food.

Shaena Mallett, director, said they wanted to strike a balance. “… That’s something I wanted to be honest about with Farmsteaders — farming is beautiful and hard,” she said. “I wanted to share the perspective that hard isn’t bad, and in fact some of the most worthwhile endeavors we could possibly take on may also be the most difficult.” Agriculture seems to be the topic du jour these days — for politicians, entertainers and, well, everyone. That’s why Mallett’s storytelling struck me. It’s poignant without being pretentious.

Regardless of how the U.S.-China trade war shakes out, for good or bad for U.S. agriculture, trade relationships won’t be the same. Existing markets will fade away. New ones will emerge. Time will tell how viable they are. In the long run though, it’s up to you and me, not nations, to find solutions.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue hails the 2018 Farm Bill and renewed dairy margin coverage program, calling it a "good time" to be in dairy, despite Pennsylvania dairy farmers' concerns that production costs far outweigh their portion of the profits.

Editor-in-chief Rebecca Miller ponders how social media has impacted farmers and influenced the way they network — both positively and negatively.