Holly Martin, editor, and her family live on a farm near Ford, Kan. She has been with the Journal since 1994. She can be reached at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806, or by e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com.

Broken record, times two

By Holly Martin Here I am, talking about the weather again. I feel like a broken record. Over the last few years, if I ask a group of agriculture folks what I should write about in my next column, invariably they say, “The weather.

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The Kansas House and Senate conference committee has proposed a budget cut of 1.5 percent this year and another cut of 1.5 percent next year to higher education, which includes K-State Research and Extension. That, combined with the 1.5 percent cut, means the K-State Extension budget will be reduced by nearly 10 percent—in one year. Dean of College of Agriculture and Director of K-State Research and Extension John Floros says that kind of cut means 100 to 120 fewer Extension professionals. [Read More]

Kansas wheat producers reported that their crop was 41 percent headed, well behind 100 percent a year ago and a 74 percent average. In 2012, 36 percent was good, 35 percent fair, 16 percent poor and 6 percent very poor. In 2013 the condition was 25 percent good, 30 percent fair, 21 percent poor and 21 percent very poor. [Read More]

Most moms across America spend their Mother’s Day with breakfast in bed or an afternoon of relaxation. I, on the other hand, spent my Mother’s Day with pig manure on my jeans. We spent the day differently, perhaps from the image of what Mother’s Day should be, but we didn’t care. [Read More]

But when it comes to the whole struggle with critics of biotechnology, I was afraid science was losing. If that sounds familiar, you might remember that just a few months ago, I wrote about renowned anti-GMO activist Mark Lynas, who stood up and announced he had been wrong. With increasing regularity, I’m seeing articles popping up in mainstream media that reveal science has won a few battles in the GMO war. [Read More]

During the groundbreaking for improvements to the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, Brewer said, “The first impression off the plane is the impression they’ll have of the city of Wichita, and they’re going to recognize that the city of Wichita and our region, we’re very sophisticated and maybe we’re not the rural, farming industry, and things of that nature that some think of us as in other states and other places. Winter is president of the Sedgwick County Farm Bureau, the county where Wichita... [Read More]

All too often I wish I had my camera and a few extra minutes to stop and grab that photo that would showcase where I live. And the bonus for you is that when you get a great shot, you can enter it in the Down Country Roads photo contest. Even if you don’t win a photo contest, the photos will be passed down to future generations who steward the land. [Read More]

And that's a good thing, except farmers may be thinking twice about inviting visitors to their farm following a recent court decision in Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled that farmers are not protected by a law that is intended to promote recreation on private lands. But the Iowa Supreme Court ruled this case does not fall under the Iowa law. [Read More]

Probably not a bad idea considering I walked through snow this morning, the second week in April and over two months since our buddy Phil predicted an end to winter. In parts of Oklahoma, Small Grains Extension Specialist Jeff Edwards saw as much as 50 to 80 percent damage to the winter wheat crop. Anytime there is late freeze in the Plains, the worry immediately turns to the winter wheat crop. [Read More]

The grain market page has changed and moved to the crops section. One of the most useful changes is the page right before this one on Page 3A, called “This week in brief. If you are absolutely so busy that you can’t read anything else that week, read page 3A and you’ll have a good idea of the week’s news. [Read More]