Basics Of Grazing Behavior

Cattle are grazers and browsers, eating a wide variety of grasses, forbs and leaves/bark from shrubs and trees. Not having upper front teeth, cattle can’t nip off plants as a horse does, but use their flexible tongue to wrap around a “bite” and break it off with a movement of the head. They bite short […] Read more

How often do you get down on the ground after the seeder and check seeding depth? If you’re not checking every field, you could be leaving a fifth of your yield potential in the dust

As the average number of acres individual farmers have to seed in a year continues to grow, there is real pressure to cover ground as quickly as possible. But according to agronomists and machinery engineers, the old expression “haste makes waste” is something to keep in mind. The care and accuracy — or lack of […] Read more


Three Tools For Generating Retirement Income

There’s lots of chatter about how much money people need when they retire from both soon-to-retire farmers and from people who offer tips. From my experience, most retired people need more cash flow than they realize but if they want to learn a new skill they can retire in comfort on a lot less money […] Read more

It’s All About Perspective

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village. A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. “Not very long.” they answered in unison. “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” The fishermen explained that their small catches were […] Read more


Retired Farmers Can Simplify Financial Strategy

Long time readers of Grainews know that I developed the Fivelegged stool financial strategy around 1993. It has five parts and I’ve written about them so often I won’t do it now. I do have an essay on the five-legged stool and I think this strategy is important enough that I will send it to […] Read more

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR UNAFFORDABLE EFFICIENCIES

Twelve years ago I was told that having fewer and bigger grain elevators would be more efficient and better for me. Today the tariff at these new efficient inland grain terminals is at least 50 per cent higher than it was 12 years ago. I was also told 12 years ago that is the rail […] Read more


Use A Holding Company To Ease Farm Transfer

Keep in mind that succession and estate planning are not events, they are processes. With the high increase in farm values today, you may have begun to wonder how a transfer to your next generation will ever be possible. Today, the capital gain exemption available on shares of family farm corporations, or on farm properties […] Read more

Is Your Farm S. A. F. E.?

Keep safe. Stay safe. Drive safe. How many times have you said that in the past week to someone you care about? So what’s the common word? Have you taken S. A. F. E. to heart? S. A. F. E. is more than just a word. It’s a way of thinking, a way of acting […] Read more


Stock Market Should Reward The Prudent

Where are markets going? It’s a perennial question, but at the moment there is anything but clarity. The U. S. Federal Reserve Board has given a hint of what is to come by raising interest rates from 0.25 per cent to 0.50 per cent for overnight loans to banks by the Fed. It’s a token, […] Read more

Chainsaw Tips Scary

Dear Mr. Whetter, I have been an avid reader for over 25 years but Mr. Harder’s article “Tips to buy and use a chainsaw” (page 34, January 25 issue) leaves me with a very bad impression of the care you take to verify an article’s authenticity. It downright scares me that an article with so, […] Read more


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