Associate Editor Jennifer M. Latzke has been with the Journal since 2000. She grew up near Woodbine, Kan. Latzke writes a bi-monthly column, “Common Ground,” which has garnered several professional awards. In 2010 she was named the Communicator of Achievement by the Kansas Professional Communicators and in 2007 she was named a Master Writer by the American Agricultural Editors Association. She is also a graduate of Class X of the Kansas Agricultural and Rural Leadership program. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.

Get in and drive

This little tidbit of good advice from my dad, the king of road trips, has served me well over the years. Following Dad’s advice, I took a little detour through Estes Park and on over to the Rocky Mountain National Park on my way home from Loveland. As I navigated the twisting Highway 34 into the park and I let my mind wander a little, I realized that I’d maybe missed Dad’s subtle point all those years ago.

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But, when you are in your 30s and can’t remember that specific lesson on plant genetics from the one agronomy class you had to take to graduate, don’t worry. The guy sitting there in your news and feature writing class will wind up working at Kansas Farm Bureau and will be a great friend and source. The girls you study biology and chemistry with today will wind up working on public relations accounts you’ll cover tomorrow. [Read More]

This past weekend as I sat up in the announcer’s stand behind the mic, I looked around and realized that fitting techniques and cattle might change, but some things don’t change. They have this easy camaraderie that they’ve developed over years of twisting tails, lining up kids and cattle, scooping manure and running class after class through the ring. By my side in the announcer stand is that co-superintendent’s daughter who’s grown now, but she’s back home and helping out with the show. [Read More]

There’s no shower, party, gala, ball, announcement, or festival to mark the day when one pays off a student loan. If the 13th wedding anniversary gift by tradition is lace or textiles, what’s the gift for 13 years to pay off a student loan? According to the Federal Reserve Board of New York, there are about 37.1 million student loan borrowers with outstanding student loans today. [Read More]

The speaker was Greg Duerksen, president of Kincannon & Reed, an executive search firm that specializes in agribusiness, and he was speaking on a panel at the 2013 Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum in Kissimmee, Fla. Duerksen went on to talk about how headhunting for a new generation in agribusiness means adjusting the scope of the search from just the animal science and agronomy colleges to the business and liberal arts colleges as well. Duerksen said that with all of the science, ... [Read More]

And yes, shoveling snow isn't fun, but it is good exercise. Think about all of the memories you make on a snow day--the snowmen, the snow angels, the snowball fights and forts. There's time on a snow day, when all the chores are done, that dads and moms turn into little kids sledding and making snow ice cream. [Read More]

The folks at Certified Angus Beef encourage their Facebook followers to buy "a big, beautiful Certified Angus Beef brand steak, slap on a bow and give it to your sweetie with a card: "You're so rare! This Valentine's Day, the charity Heifer Project International is offering an alternative to flowers and chocolates. The livestock that are donated through Heifer Project aren't just sources of food, but they help improve the economy of the villagers. [Read More]

Try looking up factoids to sprinkle into your talk about the evolution of British breeds of cattle at 10 p.m. the night before your Saturday 8 a.m. speech without Google or Wikipedia, kids. Back in my day, glitter paint using military surplus stencils on neon poster board was the height of sophistication. Of course, this also necessitated a well-stocked supply of poster board, letter stencils and markers, which was rare around the Latzke household. [Read More]

There's a grassroots effort out of the Kansas Sampler Foundation called the PowerUp movement that aims to answer some of these questions and remind people that it's OK to be "rural by choice." But this group of 21- to 39-year-olds who are rural by choice is looking outside of those traditional venues to brainstorm ways of improving the quality of life in rural towns. From creative financing of start-up businesses, to social gatherings for young people, to finding affordable housing in a ... [Read More]

I learned about the Chamber of Greater Franklin County in Hampton, Iowa, and its program, "Buy One Product Local." Now, not all of that toilet paper was bought in the county, so they also figured that the amount actually spent in-county on toilet paper was about $335,800. What if we all committed to buying our toilet paper from the grocery store in our small town? [Read More]