Editorial / Opinions

We’re going to need bright, young leaders in agriculture, to help us meet the challenge of feeding a growing world,” said Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson Foods. I recently read this quote while scanning through a social media site. These words are packed full of so much power and truth. It’s no surprise that a challenge will arise as we face a growing world population and limited farmland. Luckily, we have technology on our side and bright young leaders to take us there.

How many old men does it take to load one cow?

We’re going to need bright, young leaders in agriculture, to help us meet the challenge of feeding a growing world,” said Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson Foods. I recently read this quote while scanning through a social media site. These words are packed full of so much power and truth. It’s no surprise that a challenge will arise as we face a growing world population and limited farmland. Luckily, we have technology on our side and bright young leaders to take us there.

I was shocked when I heard a respectable speaker tell an audience of businessmen that we are running out of food because the world’s population is growing faster than our food supply. He really meant that statement and went on to talk about droughts and floods that have added to the problems of food production. In California, which in the past few weeks has gotten some rain, has lost many orchards and perennial plantings like alfalfa, orchards and vineyards due to the long drought and no snow in the mountains. We all take food as a thing we get off the shelf, but he is really concerned about reduced production and more mouths to feed.

Beef cattle prices are great right now. It seems that each weekly market report establishes a new, all-time record high. My friends in the city kid me about ‘getting rich in the cattle business’ and I have even heard fellow cattleman wonder out loud, “Are they getting too high?”

I debated writing my column about the farming rights amendment passing but by the time this issue will have showed up at your mailbox it will have been two weeks since we went to the polls to vote and I am sure you’ll have been sick of hearing about it. Although, we should never tire of talking about our rights as farmers…

There are good reasons that most men don’t cook – and if I have offended any men with that broad generalization, let me rephrase it; there are good reasons why I don’t cook.

There have been some changes around our Ozarks Farm & Neighbor office, staff changes that is. After seven wonderful years with OFN our production manager, Melissa Fuller, has said goodbye to our family and started a new journey. It is a little bittersweet. Although, we will all miss Melissa there are great things in store for her.

My house is located just rural enough to have several deer munch on some of our perennial flowers. But my wife enjoys the deer and since we don’t garden they really have become part of the neighborhood. Mothers bring their fawns by and since we no longer have a dog we are able to view them on the game camera.

I’m convinced that the education I received at an old-fashioned, general store was as valuable as a college degree. Sitting around the pot-bellied, wood stove on a late, Saturday afternoon meant listening to a bunch of old men telling stories of their past and it allowed me to learn from their failures as well as their successes, for they would eventually tell of both if I sat there long enough.