Did cattle evolve to eat grass, or is all that talk about rumens, abomasums and cuds just a bunch of baseless, elitist, tree-hugger new-age propaganda? Don’t ask that question at Iowa State University, where Corn is not only King, it’s Master of the Universe. As the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, Ricardo Salvador discovered that… Read more »
Posts Tagged: sustainable agriculture
Agronomic Arrogance
When a U professor took the microphone after last Sunday’s screening of Troubled Waters to accuse two southeast Minnesota dairy farmers of basically poisoning their own well, it was a rude reminder of the wide chasm that still separates the sustainable ag community and the U of M. That’s too bad: because if the film… Read more »
America’s Industrial Drug
I recently called an older Minnesota dairy farmer in an attempt to track down a young guy he had been mentoring the past couple of years. It seemed the phone number I had for the younger farmer no longer worked. There was a good reason. “I think he’s back into the meth,” the older farmer… Read more »
The Danger of Endangered Rivers
An endangered river is dangerous—the Cedar River proved that exactly two years ago this week. Recommend on Facebook Share on google plus Tweet about it
CSP: Working out the Warts
The USDA announced this week that farmers have until June 11 to fill out an application for the latest round of Conservation Stewardship Program contracts. That’s a narrow window of opportunity at a time of year when time is precious in Farm Country. But if farmers do have the time, it’s worth stopping by their… Read more »
A Peek Behind the Curtain
It’s refreshing when people in power pull the curtain aside, drop the feel-good rhetoric momentarily and offer a glimpse at what they are really thinking. It’s also a little frightening. After years of claiming he’s “size neutral” when it comes to agricultural policy, Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Willmar) announced during a March 11 House committee hearing… Read more »
What Lies Beneath Doesn’t Lie
Spring flood predictions are in the air, and you can bet that within the next several weeks a whole lot of that wayward water will be taking Grade A Midwestern topsoil along for the ride. Recommend on Facebook Share on google plus Tweet about it