Danielle Beard
Farm Talk Newspaper

Parsons, Kansas — “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins.” — Native American proverb

As a mascara addicted, omnivore Okie who grew up cowboy boot top deep in the beef industry, I’ve been criticized by my plant-based diet peers for my so-called “barbaric” lifestyle.

By Mary Rintoul
The Hutchinson News    

Kansas Farmers Union President Donn Teske said there is reason to worry. And there is.

Here in the Midwest, we know farmers can get creative to deal with fluctuating prices. But this summer local farmers are turning their feed trough into an ice cream sundae. In Elkhart County, Indiana, one farmer has started to feed his dairy cows ice cream sprinkles, cookies, marshmallows, and gummy bears to give his cows the energy they need to produce milk. And in Reno County, Kansas, another farmer is feeding his cows thousands of pounds of chocolate scraps from a local chocolate factory.

By Patty Clark, State Director
USDA Rural Development    

Imagine a future where America is powered by reliable, sustainable and cleaner fuel supplies that also generate new, middle-class jobs and ultimately strengthen our economy.  At the United States Department of Agriculture, we can and do imagine such a future.  That future is much closer to reality in part because of the Obama Administration’s investments, which have nearly doubled renewable energy generation from wind, solar and geothermal sources since 2008, while simultaneously increasing domestic oil and gas production to the highest level in recent history.

By Ron Brown
President, Kansas Association of Conservation Districts

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee recently approved its version of the 2012 Farm Bill.

In today’s partisan climate where everything seems to turn into a political issue, Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and the other members of the committee deserve high accolades for their swift, bipartisan passage of a commonsense plan that protects American agriculture while at the same time reducing our nation’s debt by an estimated $23 billion.

Erick DeWolf, Extension Plant Pathology, K-State

I visited some fields in south central Kansas this week that were sprayed with fungicide about a week ago. The fungicides appear to have stopped the development of stripe rust. The stripe rust lesions were now tan and dry instead of the normal bright yellow color of active stripe rust. This indicates to me that the fungicide had killed the stripe rust fungus and stopped the production of new spores.

Edward Cross          

National energy tax policy is a complex issue.  A number of groups who oppose oil and natural gas development have been conducting information campaigns that confuse the public and policymakers.  In addition, the media appears to have difficulty covering energy tax policy issues in any detailed way.

Mary Rintoul
The Hutchinson News Managing Editor

For years, through successive governors and legislatures, Kansas state government has virtually ignored the water problem staring everyone in the face. Even as yearly measurements showed western Kansas' Ogallala Aquifer steadily declining, projecting it to dry up within time, Kansas did nothing about water policy that overappropriated water rights and encouraged consumption.

On Nov. 20, in the Farm and City Section of the Sunday’s issue of The Hutchinson News, I encountered the article “Why Horses Need Their Hooves Pampered.” I have been a Farrier for 13 years and a Barefoot Practitioner for five years. Currently I maintain 400-plus head of horses every four to six weeks, including everything from your basic trail horse to high performance horses at the top of their game nationally.

St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.

Six men lost their lives in the Bartlett Grain tragedy. Leaving behind family and friends in the Atchison area were John Burke, Ryan Federinko, Curtis Fields and Chad Roberts. Travis Keil of Topeka was one of the last to be found, as well as Darrek Klahr of Wetmore.

By Adrian Polansky

America needs real solutions for reducing our dependence on imported energy. It's no secret that answers can be found on the farms and in the forests of Kansas rather than oil fields overseas.

John Montgomery 

While Gov. Sam Brownback's modern-day version of the Homestead Act is a good incentive to get people to move to parts of Kansas now suffering from severe population decline, reviving the state's rural communities is going to take a serious and comprehensive job growth plan, too.

By Richard Shank

By R-Calf USA President Max Thornsberry, DVM

Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meat has become the law of the land, and you’d think a pig had been stuck with a knife considering all the squealing coming from the multinational beef packing industry and its trade associations.

The Buffalo News, N.Y.

The Labor Department's reversal of a Bush administration rule may do more harm than good for farmers and could pass along extra costs to consumers.