column

At the end of every year, various publications, websites, etc. have their “Top 10” or “Top 5” list for that year. In this issue of “Focus on Ag,” I am highlighting my “Top 5 Ag Topics” for 2022, based on issues that were discussed in the columns throughout the year. Following are my “Top 5 Ag Topics” for 2022.   Strong U.S. net farm income levels continue in 2022 Based on the data in the latest “…

While I try not to use words that cliché, I know that’s what it sounds like to others when I say things like “When we were in school …” or “Back in the ’90s”… As I get older, I find myself saying things like that more often. Sometimes these statements are just for fun. An attempt to entertain. Other times they are simply sharing a memory that makes me feel good. Often, though, it’s the history…

Why is it that everything ends up happening on the same day or days?  I have a possible wedding, a retirement party for a great friend, and a decoy show all happening on the same weekend.  I want to be at all three events, but we all know you can’t be two places or even three places at the same time. In the end, it is the first commitment I made that is going to win this tug of war. Twenty-four…

Why do we lose things? The question nagged me during the two days spent at home as a blizzard raged outside. It was especially brought to focus when my husband, Bryan, handed me a small pair of scissors he had used while in the horse barn and slid into his coat pocket. The scissors, instead of becoming lost, is now permanently kept in my home office. Engraved on several places around the blades…

Before I close the book on 2022, I want to thank all of you who took the time to write a note in a Christmas card or drew one of your own. We collected nearly 700 cards this year, and the last box was just shipped off last week to Military Missions Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky. We also dropped some cards and coloring contest entries off at the Minnesota Veterans Home. May you have a blessed new…

At this very moment, the town I live in is pretty much shut down. Snow in amounts I don’t like along with winds I hate even worse are arriving later today. The pheasants are getting a huge reprieve from hunters that would normally be chasing them until the very end. The snow depths, on the other hand, are giving them a different kind of challenge. It is amazing how wildlife can survive in…

Last Christmas we gathered at Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve like we always do. We four adult kids and some of our adult kids and some of their little kids piled into Mom’s living room. The family has grown so large that we sometimes stack three deep to fit in the square 14x14 living room Grandpa Adolph and his brothers built in the ’40s. Last Christmas we began the evening by attending church.…

The Peterson blower got its first workout of the season, and more than likely, by the time you read this, Round 2 is in the books as well. Had to put a new electric starter on the nearly 20-year-old blower. Installing the starter is a simple repair, so I thought. After an hour or so of frustration, I did what I should have done to begin with – take it to Eddy. A memory just popped into my head.…

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older. The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 8, 1943. A man with experiences is L. G. Larson, who lives in the northwest part of Beaver Creek township. Student school teacher, store clerk…

(First paragraphs are carried over from last week’s column. Amaryllis are the drama plants for winter. They grow from a bulb, and like a tulip, the flower buds form in the bulb prior to its going dormant. Your job as the plant keeper is to persuade that flower to come out of the bulb and bless you with its beauty. In recent years “waxed” bulbs are the easy route because you don’t have to plant…

About a month ago I was invited to speak at the Ecumen Meadows. This is an assisted living facility located in Worthington. The residents of this facility make up all walks of life, and many of them are retired farmers.  My topic was about public lands and the work that my local chapter of Pheasants Forever has been involved in to protect the local drinking water supply for our community. The…

While taking pictures at the Luverne Cardinals season-opening gymnastics match, I knelt down to get a better shot of the athletes. It’s not unusual for me for me to duck down, mainly so I don’t block any of the spectators’ views. What made last week notable is that I easily stood up without the usual grunts and side rolls to push myself off the floor. A month ago I joined an online fitness group…

Question:  How do you determine if your tires are unsafe for winter driving? Answer:  Over the years, I have investigated numerous crashes where worn tires were a contributing factor. Tires with inadequate tread depth may cause your vehicle to skid or slide out of control on a slippery or wet road surface. It is important to remember that unsafe tires can hydroplane on both wet and snow covered…

First Snow has arrived replacing the garden’s fading colors of fall with a twinkling coat of brilliance. It covers the brown, lost remnants of summer with a blanket of hope. First Snow gives mortals a hint of the new creation described by John in the book of Revelation. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, … And I heard a loud voice…

Thanksgiving is in the books for another year and Christmas is just weeks away … that is, for most of you. The Petersons are celebrating Christmas this coming weekend. Our kids and their families will be coming to Luverne from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and, of course, Minnesota. With busy work, school and sports schedules, it seems getting together at Christmas just doesn’t work. This isn…

I have purchased a deer license every year for the past 37 years, and this year was the first year that I actually filled my tag. I purchased my deer license before Sept. 1, and this automatically enrolls me in the doe lottery. In Minnesota every hunter that buys a deer license can shoot a buck. You have to be successfully drawn from a special lottery, depending on where you live, in order to be…