There are plenty of old wives tales like if it rains before seven, it is done by 11. Another agriculture one is, which I did not believe was true at first, when farmers start making money, everyone else in the ag industry makes good money. I am also a numbers person. I was phenomenal with ...

Do something. This mantra has been stuck in my head since I read Gabe Brown’s book, “Dirt to Soil.” It is about the regenerative agriculture movement which gives a unique perspective on agriculture. It should not be taken as gospel, but it provides different viewpoints. While talking ...

Climate change is complicated science, and climate models bear that out. Relationships are not a smooth line and there is much variability in the projections. This variability is often seized on by climate deniers instead of looking at the overall picture. When you do, it is clear that carbon ...

As planting season arrives or has arrived for some in the field, it is an exciting time. The maximum yield potential starts now, and optimism abounds. With planting comes new plans, whether it is a new chemical program, a new trial, or a new seed. If you stay the same, that is fine, but a ...

As I write this column, Senate File 2340 has been passed by both houses of the Iowa legislature, and is making its way to the governor’s desk. If she signs – and she almost certainly will – Iowa will have criminalized unauthorized immigration, putting enforcement in the hands of local ...

By the time you read this sentence, spring has sprung. What a beautiful time of year. Winter is in the rear-view mirror. While this last month was unseasonably warm and was eerily uncomfortable, it is exciting for spring to be here. It being 60 degrees with no snow on the ground is meant for ...

“20 Days in Mariupol” is a documentary worth watching. This film is about a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggling to continue their work documenting the war’s atrocities as the Russian invasion begins. It is a harrowing piece of work by the ...

It is generally understood that carbon pollution is changing our climate and negatively impacting some native species. One example is the decrease in Monarch butterflies caused, in part, by continuing drought that limits food during migration. However, the opposite is also happening. Nature can ...

A recent Iowa Starting Line article noted University of Northern Iowa students do not plan to stick around after graduation. For a state with a workforce problem, this is not good. Whether it is on the microlevel, people leaving rural Iowa for a larger Iowa city or on the macrolevel, people ...

Sometimes I bury the lede. I’m famous for a slow-burning, long setup that tries to make everything come together in a grand revelation at the end, or that leaves a question hanging for the reader to gnaw on. But this is a time for clarity, so let me say it clearly. Terrorism is not the ...