Posts Tagged ‘technology’
Milo (Sorghum) Harvest 2015
Scheufler Farms, Inc. Fall Harvest 2015 is officially over. It ended last Friday, when the crew finished in the milo field. Grain cart filling the semi with milo Usually it’s the double-crop beans that are last crop standing in the field, but it was a warm, dry fall. Usually the first freeze of the year…
Read MoreFall: Harvest, Planting, and My (Dad’s) Happy Place
Fall is a busy time on a Kansas farm. It’s the place on the calendar where harvest and planting intersect. Milo harvest 2015 Unlike wheat harvest, which wraps up in less than two weeks, fall harvest lasts from September until all of the crops are harvested. Which, depending on the weather, can be anywhere from…
Read MoreSustainability Spotlight: Large-Scale Commodity Farm
If there is one word I could use to describe Lee Scheufler, my father and the co-owner/operator of Scheufler Farms, Inc. it would be efficient. Margaret & Lee Scheufler, co-owners/operators of Scheufler Farms, Inc. “I wasn’t going to marry a farmer!” declares Margaret, wife of efficient Lee, my mother and co-owner/operator of Scheufler Farms. “But…
Read MoreSustainability Spotlight: Industry Perspective
Last December, Marvin showed up on my parents’ doorstep. Marvin works for ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Company – although nobody ever calls them by their full name) as a marketing agent who procures grain from local farmers. Grain elevators in Saxman, KS – one of the many small towns in Kansas in which the number…
Read MoreThe Next Generation of American Agriculture
My Dad was featured in the Wall Street Journal last month. That’s right, I’m basically the daughter of a celebrity. He and several other farmers in Central Kansas (like my high school classmate Mason!) were interviewed for the article: The Next American Farm Bust is Upon Us. Unfortunately, the tone of the article was less than…
Read MoreVolatility
Unpredictability is the name of the game when it comes to farming. Weather, pests, breakdowns, and (perhaps most frustrating), the marketplace. Things have been especially good this year: plenty of rain and sunshine at just the right time. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) it’s been good everywhere. The Former Soviet Union and Europe had record-breaking wheat harvests…
Read MoreRained Out: A Story of Mitigating Risk
For all of the technology in modern agriculture – the GPS device in the combine, the weather app on the phone, the wireless electronic truck scale – our food system is still in the hands of Mother Nature. It’s never more apparent how small we humans are in the universe until your game of Pegs…
Read MoreNitrogen Fertilizer, a Comparison
A few weeks ago I wrote about how nitrogren fertilizer is an essential part of farming because it is an essential part of protein, and thus nutrition for humans. Across farming philosophies – from conventional to progressive to organic to local – the fact that nitrogen is essential to life is an undisputed fact. Beyond…
Read MoreNitrogen: the Building Block of Building Blocks
Protein. I’ve ranted over its popularity in the American diet. I’ve warned that we’re getting way more protein than we need (although so far there’s no evidence that this is necessarily harmful). Yet still for most humans on the planet today, lack of protein remains a major source of malnutrition. Falafel – a great (and…
Read MoreFarming when the Ground is White and the Temp is Low
I work an 8-to-5-ish job. I have weekends and holidays off, I accrue PTO, and if I’m deathly ill, I have (amazing) coworkers who will step up to cover for me. This does not describe the life of a small business owner, such as a farmer. The Old Red Barn A small business owner works the…
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