Even without WTO free trade deal, U.S. ag export surplus evaporates
For nearly two years, U.S. farmers and ranchers watched as the second shoe grew bigger and bigger.
On Nov.
Confessions of an errant cow milker
Based on the e-mails, brickbats and live grenades sent me the last few weeks, it's time to come clean: I kidnapped the Lindbergh baby.
Getting the worst job in Washington
Even before Ann Veneman quietly submitted her resignation as secretary of agriculture Nov. 12, the Washington grapevine hung heavy with a long list of likely replacements.
Political wisdom for the heartland
The first political wisdom ever sent my way came from the gravelly throat of Everett Dirksen.
During Dirksen's 1968 reelection stop in my southern Illinois hometown, I asked the white-maned Senate Minority Leader how he'd outflank Mayor Daley's Chicago vote machine.
Big GOP win: Tough ag fights ahead
Just before midnight Nov. 2, the empty Guinness cans in my kitchen sink rattled.
Two (of the three; there would be more later) fell.
Rabobank isn’t out for the count
Just as the noisy presidential campaign reached its October crescendo, the biggest, most bitter issue in farm country - Rabobank's bid to buy Omaha's Farm Credit Services of America (FCSA) - skidded to a quiet end.
Not knowing beans about seed corn
Love him or hate him, controversial filmmaker Michael Moore has his self-described "America's biggest slacker" act down pat.
Few fan-o-grams in columnist’s mail
It's been more than a year since readers have had their say in this weekly space, so, in the spirit of this election season - warning: mudballs ahead - here's their take on my take of agriculture.
Autumn leaves bring world of hope
The words "Fall Classic" meant nothing to me on the dairy farm of my youth until 1964.
That year, after 18 years of futility, the St.
USDA head blatantly campaigning
Officially, the 2004 presidential election kicked off Labor Day. Unofficially, the Bush re-election effort at the U.
